Through the Wardrobe
by TheAlphaWrites
Summary: When the Pevensie’s are sent to live with Professor Kirk, they didn’t expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … EdmundxOC PeterxOC
1. Chapter 1: Meeting the Pevensie's

**Disclaimer/Notes:**** C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. This is in third person.**

**Title:**** Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre:**** Romance/Adventure**

**Rating:**** T **

**Pairings:**** PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary:**** When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here …

* * *

**

Chapter one: Meeting the Pevensie's

Today was the day the Pevensie family, well the children, were coming to stay at Professor Digory Kirke's house. His granddaughters, Alice and Charlotte Kirke, had been staying at the house since the war started and they were both excited that there was going to be more children to talk with them. In fact, they were so excited Digory referred to them as kangeroos, with an amused smile on his face.

When Mrs. Macready had left to pick the children up, Alice and Charlotte had sat on the stairs and waited for her return with their guests …

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie climbed off the wooden, horse-drawn wagon and stared in amazement at the area around them, but mostly the old house that towered above them. Half dazed with awe, the four followed the housekeeper up the cobbled dirt path. They were in a trance as they glanced around the building and it took Mrs. Macready shouting to snap them out of it.

"Girls!" she snapped loudly, "What are you doing sitting there? Don't you have anything better to do?"

The Pevensie's turned to the stairs to see two young girls, shot upwards, their faces flushed red. The tallest of the girls couldn't have been older than 15, with waist length dark brown curls falling down her body and olive green eyes. The other was about slightly younger, but not by much, with shoulder length auburn-red locks curling around her face and matching eyes, though they were slightly wider.

"W-we were waiting for the guests. Grandfather said we should be welcoming..." The taller one said shifting uncomfortably on the step, though she kept her head raised and watched the housekeeper closely. The second girl nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling. Mrs. Macready just sighed, knowing better than to yell at the granddaughters of the person that writes her checks.

"Very well," she said in a calm voice. "You two can show the children around the house and give them the rules. The real rules and not your own Miss. Alice."

The red head blushed a deep red. "Of course, Mrs. Macready."

With that, the housekeeper walked off, her shoes clicking against the hard wooden floor.

The dark haired girl took a step down the stairs. "Hi, I'm Charlotte and this is my sister, Alice."

"I'm Peter," the older Pevensie child introduced himself to her. "And this is my brother, Edmund, and my sisters, Susan and Lucy."

Alice grinned. "It's nice to meet you. How was your journey here?"

She noticed the faces that the family pulled and laughed. "I know the feeling. When we first came here, I had to spend the first four hours in the bathroom."

"You don't live here?" Susan asked, curiously, a smile on her lips.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, we live in Hasting with our mum and dad. When our father went away for war, mum sent us to our grandfather's, that would be Professor Kirke."

The family nodded. Alice gestured up the stairs and the Pevensie's passed her a confused look.

"Follow me, I'll show you were you can put your bags, then we'll show you around the grounds before dinner. Trust me, you'll be grateful for the tour - We've come here every summer since I was four and I still don't know where I'm going half the time." She explained smiling, "But lucky for you, Charlotte has a photographic memory."

Said sister looked embarrassed at being pointed out but remained silent. Alice and Charlotte lead Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy up the stairs and down the corridor. They pointed out rooms as they went, along with explaining what they called 'The Macready Laws'.

"There is to be no shouting," Charlotte explained, putting on her best Macready voice. "Or running. No improper use of the dumbwaiter, no touching of the historical artifacts, and above all, there is to be no disturbing of the professor."

Her ending was finished with a chorus of laughs. She turned and grinned at them, catching the eye of a certain Pevensie. Dazzling blue eyes met sparkling green before Charlotte pulled away, blushing, and pointed out the drawing room. As she carried on, she could feel familiar eyes burning an intense look on the back of her neck.

Alice stopped at a room and pushed the door open. It had an antique interior and had four single beds placed around the walls. Two doors went off into the next rooms at the back of the room.

"You'll be staying in here. I thought you might like to stay together in this house, so I requested you share a room." Alice explained, before her face changed into an expression of worry, "I hope that's okay?"

"It's fine, thanks Alice." Edmund reassured, making Alice's face light up again. This family members gave him a confused look at something that was completely out of character for their brother.

"That door there -" Charlotte pointed towards the door on the left "-is mine and Alice's room. You can come in anytime if you need us, and that one there -" she pointed to door on the right "-leads to the bathroom."

Lucy dropped her bag and ran over to the two Kirke sisters, grinning happily. She took their hands in hers and gave them puppy dog looks.

"Can you show us the stables now?" she asked sweetly.

Charlotte giggled. "How did you know we had stables, sweetie?"

"I noticed them when we came in," Lucy answered. "So can we? Please?"

Alice gestured towards Peter, Susan and Edmund. "Ask your family."

Lucy turned and gave them the same look, knowing that they wouldn't say no. "Can we please?"

Susan, although tempted, was still unsure. "I'm not sure Lucy. We have had a long journey..."

"How about we show you guys the horses and then we'll bring you up for a sleep before dinner. Is that okay?" Charlotte suggested.

Peter shrugged. "Okay. Lead the way."

Lucy smiled brightly before pulling on Alice and Charlotte's hands and dragging them down the hall. The two laughed.

"Lucy, if your going to drag us, keep going straight and out the door." Charlotte told her. Lucy nodded excitedly and pulled them faster.

Alice could hear the sounds of running footsteps behind them, and tried to slow down only resulting in Lucy pulling her more.

But Charlotte wasn't complaining. She was glad that she could make Lucy that happy so fast. She was kind of like Alice when they where younger.

* * *

Alice and Charlotte lent back against one of the pillars in the stable as they watched Lucy brush Buttercup, the white pony Alice had had since she was about six.

"I never knew Lucy could run that fast." The two turned to see three out of breath older siblings, all trying to regain the lost oxygen.

"I know," Susan gasped. "She never does that at home."

Alice grinned weakly. "Well maybe it's just us."

"Sorry about that." Peter apologized finally catching his breath.

Charlotte shook her head. "It's no problem. That was a good way to stay fit."

All of them laughed and Lucy, still grinning happily, brought Buttercup over to Peter, Susan and Edmund.

"Look guys, this is Buttercup - Alice's pony since she was a child. Isn't she beautiful?" she introduced, stroking the mare's long face. "Her sister is the horse that pulled us here!"

For the next few hours, the Pevensie's and their two new friends spent time around the Stables. Lucy got at least six rides on five different horses (she insisted to ride Buttercup more than once) while Charlotte behind her on the horse and Peter pulling the reins, while Alice had taught Edmund and Susan to ride horseback without falling off.

At last Charlotte looking up at the sky and saw the sun was just about to set.

"It's time to go in, if we wait any longer it'll be dark." she told them.

"Oh, but I want to stay here." Lucy argued.

"Lucy, enough. Just come on." Susan told her, causing Lucy to pout.

"How about this?" Alice suggested, "You come with us for dinner now and then tomorrow we can come back here ... if it's not raining."

After some persuding, Lucy finally agreed and the six kids ran upstairs to get washed and changed before coming now stairs for dinner. Mrs. Macready had set the table out for six saying that Professor Kirke was busy and couldn't attend dinner. The feast was filled with small food fights and, on the most part, talking about each others likes and dislikes. Though the two families had only known each other for a short amount of time, they truely enjoyed each other's company. Maybe it was because of all that was happening in the world around them, the war and all that, but they seemed to understand each other. Being seperated from their families made them want to make the most of what they had here, despite the fact they didn't want to think that these friendship may be all they have.

Too soon for the new friends liking, it was time for bed. Alice and Charlotte sat in the Pevensie's bedroom, waiting to say goodnight. Alice was spread out on Edmund's bed, forcing him to sit on Peter's bed and Charlotte was sitting on Lucy's bed with said girl laying comfortably on her lap.

Lucy looked innocently up at Peter. "The sheets feel scratchy."

Peter and Susan got up from their seats in front the window and sat at the end of Lucy's bed.

"Wars don't last forever Lucy." Susan assured her sister, smiling slightly. "We'll be home soon."

Charlotte nodded encouragingly, brushing some strands of Lucy's hair from her face gently.

"If homes still there." Edmund said negatively. Alice reached over and flicked at the back of his head, glaring at him slightly. Edmund mouthed _'ouch' _rubbing the back of his head, returning Alice's glare.

Charlotte shot him a warning look. "Be quiet, ye of little faith."

Susan turned to face her brother. "Isn't it time you were in bed?"

Edmund scoffed. "Yes mum."

"Ed!" Peter snapped, angrily.

"This is why, at this moment in time, you should be silent." Charlotte pointed out.

Peter turned back to Lucy, his voice softening instantly. "You saw outside. This place is huge. We'll be able to anything we want. Tomorrow will be great. Really."

* * *

**The first chapter is done! Thank you for reading! Read and review - I can only make my stories good for my readers if they tell me what they think!  
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	2. Chapter 2: Hide and Seek and Narnia?

**Disclaimer/Notes:**** C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters turn into Mary-Sue's - it's not my intention but sometimes it happens without my meaning to. This chapter starts off in the point of view of Charlotte Kirke but ends up in third person for the last section.**

**Title:**** Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre:**** Romance/Adventure**

**Rating:**** T (Rating may go up)**

**Pairings:**** PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary:**** When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here …

* * *

**

Chapter Two: Hide and Seek and Narnia?

My sister and I sat in the Pevensie's assigned room: Alice sitting comfortably on the armchair that Edmund was laying under, while I was sitting by the window sill, watching the rain fall outside with Lucy laying against me, bored. We were all silent as we watched, only slightly interested, as Susan and Peter played a guessing game that involved a huge, dusty dictionary they had found in the library.

"Gas-tro-vas-cu-lar." Susan sounded out the word from the _massive _book that was set on her lap.

Peter's face looked completely blank causing her to sigh. "Come on Peter, Gastrovascular."

Peter sighed. "Is it latin?" he tried. Susan looked down at the book before answering:

"Yes."

Edmund peeked out from the bottom of the chair. "Is it latin for 'worst game ever invented'?"

I chuckled slightly and Lucy smiled up at me. I turned back to the siblings in time to see Susan huff and slam the book. The deafening silence, awkward and one of those 'I'm-seriously-bored-someone-give-me-an-idea' type of silence, filled the room before small, sweet Lucy interrupted it.

"We could play 'Hide and Seek'?" she suggested.

Peter leant backwards against his chair, in a defeated way, before turning to his little sister and saying, extremely sarcastically, "But we're already having so much fun!"

I glared at him, and I saw Alice doing the same. Lucy wasn't phased, and rushed over to his chair, a pout on her face.

"Come on Peter, please," she begged, before adding puppy dog eyes to the mix, "Pretty please."

Peter smiled slightly in defeat. "One ... two ... three ... four ..."

Lucy grinned and ran out of the room, me following her. She turned and smiled before grabbing my hand and pulling around to all sorts of places. As we were running towards a curtain, I saw Edmund and Alice run passed us to the same space. Edmund pushed Lucy out of the way, just as she got there.

"We were here first!" he told her, pulling Alice in after him. She gave me a look as if to say 'I'll-sort-him-out' before I was pulled after Lucy again, down a corridor. The first door was locked but the second was open. We ran in, slightly out of breath, and I locked the door behind us.

I heard Lucy gasp and I turned my attention to where she was looking. What I saw made my breath catch: it was the old wardrobe Grandfather Kirke has made from the apple tree that was once in his back garden, he'd always told me and Alice the story behind this wardrobe, and they were great when we were kids but he still believed them even now.

"It's the perfect hiding place." Lucy breathed before we ran inside, Lucy first then me, closing the door softly. I gripped Lucy's hand and we backed up but the further we went, all I could feel were fur coats. And, judging by the look on Lucy's face it was the same for her. But we kept going backwards and I put my free hand out behind me. I jumped, startled, when I touched something spikey. Keeping a firm hold of Lucy, the two of us pushed passed the branches we had found and ... into a world of snow!

Everywhere was just snow and white and ... I was speechless.

Lucy tugged me around, I seemed in capable of walking or talking at that point. When we approached a lamp post, we stopped. Lucy touched the frost covered post that seemed so out of place in this winter wonderland.

"I wonder what I lamp post is doing here." she questioned.

"Lucy? I'm wondering why there's a winter world at the back of my grandfather's wardrobe. Why aren't you?" I asked her, as calmly as I could in the situation.

She looked bashfully. "Right sorry."

Then I heard scurring to my right.

I jumped and I felt Lucy grab my arm tightly, looking around worried.

The scurring moved to my left and I moved, quickly, to look at that side of the forest that was surrounding us. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

Then someone stepped out from behind a tree, carrying several parcels in his arms. He looked up at us and jumped, screaming, dropping the parcels across the snowy floor. His suddenly actions, caused Lucy and I to both scream and she hide herself behind me.

I watched the man behind the tree, poking around to peer at us ... like he really was afraid. I stepped forward and Lucy followed, probably just as confused as I was. We started to bend down and pick up random parcels that had fallen infront of us. The strange man, slowly, started making his way back from behind the tree.

"Uh, Ch ... gk, ch," he started making all these werid noises and I raised an eyebrow at him. I looked down at him and, lo and behold, he had _GOATS LEGS! _

... Could this get any weridier?

Lucy took a step towards the half-goat person, holding one of the parcels she'd picked up out to him. He slowly took it from her, eyeing us both warily.

"Were you hiding from us?" she asked him quietly, as if scared he'd run off and hide.

The man (if you'd call him that) stepped closer to us, to pick up the parcels closer to him. "Huh, um, n ... no, I didn't want to scare you."

I took a step forward holding the parcels out to him. "If you don't mind me asking ... what are you?"

He looked at me, as if I was insane, and he shifted a laugh. "Why, I'm a faun! And you two must be some kind of beardless dwarf?"

Lucy laughed, along with me. "We're not dwarves, " she answered. "We're girls. And actually, I'm the tallest in my class."

The faun looked shocked. "But what your saying is, you two are Daughters of Eve?"

I looked confused. "Well, my mum's name is Mary ..."

" ... And mine is Helen ..."

"Yes, but you are in fact ... human?" The faun stated in a question, a look of awe across his face.

I pulled a face. "Of course we are."

"What are you going here?" The faun asked, shocked.

"Well, we came through the wardrobe in the spare room, and -" Lucy started slowly.

"Spare Oom?" he interrupted confused, "Is that in Narnia?"

"Narnia? What's that?" Lucy asked. I stayed frozen in place. Narnia? The imaginary place that Granddad told me about? Maybe I am insane ...

The faun laughed slightly. "My dear girl, you're in it! Everything from the lamp post, all the way to castle Cair Paravel on the Eastern Sea, every stick and stone, every icicle, is Narnia."

Lucy looked around in awe and whispered, "This is an awfully big wardrobe."

"I'm sorry, please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Tummus." the faun introduced us.

I smiled at him. "Nice to meet you Mr. Tummus, I'm Charlotte Kirke, and that's Lucy Pevensie."

Lucy extended her hand to him. Mr. Tummus looked at it, confused.

"Oh, you shake it." She told him.

He gave me a werid look. "Um why?"

Lucy looked confused again. "I - I don't know. People do it when they meet each other."

Tummus took Lucy's hand and shook it awkwardly. I laughed at the awkward sight as the two chuckled together.

"Lucy Pevensie and Charlotte Kirke, from the shining city of War Drobe in the far land of Spare Oom, how would you feel if you came and had tea with me?" Tummus asked. I looked around uneasily. "Thank you very much! But ... we should be getting back ..."

Tummus wasn't phased and tried to encourage us. "Oh, come on! It's not everyday I get to make a new friend! And there's a ... roaring fire! And toast and cakes! And maybe ... we'll even break into the sardines."

"Well, maybe ..." Lucy answered unsurely, grasping on to his arm.

I nodded, holding on to his other arm. "If there's sardines ..."

Mr. Tummus smiled at us. "By the bucket load."

He glanced around us before starting to lead us away from the lamp post and the wardrobe.

"Come along." he told us.

He lead us down the snowy path towards a door that was hidden in a tree trunk. I glanced around us, taking in every piece of scenery, because it was just ... amazing. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that Narnia, the dream place that my grandfathers stories were based around, was real. But here I was, walking through a winter forest holding the arm of a faun, called Tummus.

I couldn't help by think, life is going to get interesting.

More interesting than usual.

* * *

Lucy and I had taken most of Mr. Tummus' parcels as he opened the door to his house, letting us in first. Placing the parcels on to a clear table, I looked around his place. It had that homely feel around the place that welcomed you into the warmth. I walked over to one of the pictures and saw a drawing photo of an older faun. I lifted it into my hands and traced the outline of the man's face.

"Oh ... that was my father." Tummus told me, looking over at what me and Lucy were doing.

I smiled slightly. "He has a nice face. He looks like you." I commented.

Tummus chuckled darkly. "No, I'm nothing like him."

I glanced at Lucy, who had approached me to look at the photo. "Oh father's are fighting in the war." Lucy told me, sadly. I smiled weakly down at her and hugged her to my side, attempting some kind of sympathy. She wasn't used to being away from her family.

"My father went away to war too," Tummus told us, before shaking his head, as if trying to forget something as he approached us, a tray of hot drinks in his hand. "But that was a long _long _time ago ... before this dreadful winter."

I sat down the soft sofa in front of him, Lucy sitting on my lap. "Winter's not all bad." I told him, "There's ice skating and snowball fights ..."

Lucy looked up excitedly. "Oh! And there's christmas!"

Tummus laughed slightly. "We haven't had a christmas in a hundred years."

Lucy looked at Mr. Tummus shocked, I mean I was too but she was the worst. "No present for a hundred years?"

Tummus looked glum before his face cleared and he smiled, pouring some tea into a china cup. "But, oh, you would have loved Narnia in Spring! The Dryads and the Fauns would dance all night ... but we never got tired. And oh, the music! Such music!" he hesitated, "Would you ... like to hear some now?"

I smiled at him. "Yes please."

I watched as Tummus lifted a flute off the table beside him and started to rearange his fingers over the instruments. "Now, are you familiar with any Narnian lullabies?"

Lucy shaked her head. "No, I'm afraid not."

Tummus smiled. "Oh, that's good, because this probably won't sound anything like one."

The music was unusual but had a catchy tune. I yawned and my eyes started to droop. I heard a cup smash in the distance.

Maybe I could sleep for a bit ...

* * *

I blinked my eyes open and yawned. The room was pitch black but I could tell we were still at Mr. Tummus. I tried to sit up only find Lucy's sleeping body, weighing me down. I shook her awake, telling her that we had to go. She yawned as she got up and looked around the black room.

"Mr. Tummus?" she said uncertainly into the darkness. That was when I heard the sound of someone sniffing behind the sofa. Both Lucy and I looked behind the coach to see Tummus curled up on the floor, crying to himself.

"Why are you crying, Mr. Tummus?" Lucy asked concerned.

He sniffed. "I'm such a bad faun." he told us.

I looked at him confused. "You're the nicest faun I've ever met." _Granted your the only faun I've ever met ... _I added silently.

"Then I'm afraid you've had a very poor sampling." he told me.

"I'm sure your very sorry, and you'll never do it again." Lucy tried again.

"It's not something I've done, Lucy Pevensie, it's something I am doing." Mr. Tummus sniffed again.

"What are you doing?" I asked, hestiately but slightly confused.

"I'm kiddnapping you. Both of us." he whispered, "It's the White Witch, the one that makes it always winter, and never Christmas. She told me that if I ever come across a Son of Adam, or a Daughter of Eve, I'm supposed to hand them over to her!"

Lucy looked down casted. "I thought you were my friend."

Those words seemed to do the trick because the next thing I knew, I'm getting rushed out of Tummus' house and back towards the lamp post. I just about heard him say, "We must move quietly. The wood is full of her spies, even some of the trees are on her side."

He pulled us to a stop in front of the lamp post, grasping our hands tightly. "Do you know your way back from here?" he asked.

I nodded. "I think so."

Lucy dug into her pocket and handed Mr. Tummus who had silent tears of regret stricken down his cheeks. "Keep it. You need it more than I do."

Tummus laughed and flicked our noses lightly. "Go, Go!"

I grasped Lucy's hand and I pulled her in the direction of the wardrobe. Snow covered branches turned to soft fur coats. Lucy and I tumbled out of the wardrobe and I barely had time to catch my breath before Lucy had run out of the spare room yelling, "We're back! We're back! It's alright! We're back!"

* * *

Edmund and Alice leant out of their hiding place as Lucy ran out of the spare room yelling something. Edmund glared at her while Alice was worried about her sanity.

"Shh, he's coming!" Edmund hissed.

Then Peter rounded the corner to see his two siblings and one of the Kirke girl's in clear view. Edmund sighed and stepped out fully from behind the curtain, followed by Alice.

"You know, I'm not sure you three have quite gotten the idea of this game." Peter stated, an eyebrow raised, just as Charlotte stumbled around the corner. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling, Peter could just stare.

And then he notice something on the top of her hair.

He frowned. "Do you have _snow _on your hair?"

Charlotte blushed pink and brushed the snow off the top of her head as Susan rounded the corner. She looked at everyone standing around and asked, "Does that mean I've won?"

Peter passed a look at Susan. "I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore."

Lucy and Charlotte shared a look. "But, we've been gone for hours!" Lucy said.

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Alice followed their siblings into the spare room with the wardrobe in it. Alice's breath caught as she looked at the wardrobe. Her and Charlotte shared a look to confirm her suspisions.

Peter and Susan opened the wardrobe and began knocking on the wooden back of the wardrobe as Alice and Edmund went around the back and tapped on that, looking for this 'magical world' that their siblings had mentioned.

After a while, Susan climbed out of the wardrobe, sighing, "The only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe."

"One game at a time Lu," Peter told her. "We don't all have your imagination."

"But we weren't imagining it." Charlotte objected, holding on to Lucy's hand.

Susan gave her a cold glance. "That's enough."

"We wouldn't lie about this." Lucy argued, getting rather upset that _her _family didn't believe her.

"Well I believe you." Edmund stated randomly.

Everyone turned in shock to look at him. "You ... do?" Lucy said, shocked.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you about the football pitch in the bathroom cupboard?" he joked.

Now _that_ would have been funny but ... wrong time, wrong place.

Peter rounded towards his brother. "Oh would you just stop -"

"It was just a joke!" Edmund tried to tell him.

"-You just have to make everything worst don't you?"

Next thing I know, Edmund is in Peter's face yelling, "Shut up! You think you're Dad! But you're not!" before storming out the room. Alice went after him before the door had even shut.

Susan gave Peter a 'now-you've-done-it' look. "That was nicely handled." she commented dryly before walking out of the room.

"B-but I really was there ..." Lucy whispered meekly.

Peter gave her a tired look. "Susan's right Lucy. That's enough."

Charlotte glared at Peter's back as he walked out of the room and turned to watched Lucy shut the wardrobe door, a sad expression on her face. Charlotte came up behind her and hugged her from behind.

"Come on Lucy." She tried to assure her, "We know it was there. Her siblings are in denial. Not believing in a place that's there just because they can't see it."

Lucy sniffed and looked tearfully up at her. "Does Alice believe you?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know. I'll talk to her later. Right now, let's get something to drink. I just remembered, we didn't get much of a drink at Tummus' did we?"

Lucy laughed before taking Charlotte's hand. "Drinks it is. Just don't try to kidnap me." she joked.

Charlotte smiled down at the young girl and brush her free hand through the youngest Pevensie's hair. "I wouldn't dream of it."

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**Reviews are my drugs - feed my addiction! XD**


	3. Chapter 3: Narnia Again!

**Disclaimer/Notes:**** C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters turn into Mary-Sue's - it's not my intention but sometimes it happens without my meaning to. This chapter starts off in the point of view of Alice Kirke and changes to Charlotte Kirke.**

**Title:**** Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre:**** Romance/Adventure**

**Rating:**** T (Rating may go up)**

**Pairings:**** PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary:**** When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here …**

* * *

Chapter Three: Narnia Again?

I'd passed out on Edmund's bed (not on purpose mind you but that's where I ended up) when Lucy ran into the room, excited as she always is (even if it is bloody two o'clock in the morning) the light flickering on, jumping onto Peter's bed yelling, "Peter, Peter wake up! It's there, it's really there!"

Charlotte, who had fallen asleep on Peter's bed, sat up with a start, nearly knocking Peter and Lucy off the bed, and stared at the younger girl in excitement.

"What are you talking about Lucy?" Peter asked, sitting up drowsily and rubbing the crown of his head.

"What is Charlotte doing in your bed?" Lucy asked confused, causing the two to blush a deep red that was in competition to match my hair, but Lucy continued, not even waiting for an answer, "Narnia! It's all their in the wardrobe, like I told you!"

"You went there? Without me?" Charlotte questioned, obviously annoyed about it.

Narnia … those stories Grandpa used to tell us about. It could be a coincidence but that's not likely, I mean I haven't heard the stories since I was five and I'm pretty sure Lucy never heard of them if her siblings haven't, but then the two tuning up in the same wardrobe that Grandpa used to say was magical. It's too … planned.

Maybe Grandpa's behind it …

Susan had, by this time, gotten up, wrapping her dressing gown around her. "You were just dreaming Lucy."

"No, I wasn't dreaming, I saw Mister Tummus again!" Lucy exclaimed, "He's well. They haven't found out that he helped Charlotte and I!"

Charlotte smiled happily, despite the disbelieving looks that Peter and Susan shot her. "Good."

I felt the space next to me dip and I turned to see Edmund staring at me with a small smile on his face. "Did you have a good sleep? On my bed?"

I blushed and nodded. "Yes, more comfortable than my own, I can tell you."

Edmund chuckled slightly and opened his mouth to comment, only his little sister cut him off.

"Oh, and this time – Edmund came too!" Lucy added.

I raised an eyebrow. That could explain why he wasn't there when I woke up. I kept my gaze on him, he gave me a weak smile and rubbed the back of his neck.

Silence filled the room.

"You saw the faun?" Peter asked his brother, sceptically.

"His name's Mr. Tummus." Charlotte grumbled in a childish way, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Well, he didn't go _there_ with me." Lucy explained, only to pause and turn to her brother curiously, "What _were_ you doing Edmund?"

There was silence for a moment as Edmund seemed to debate what he was going to say.

"I-I was just playing along." Edmund stuttered at first, nervous, but his voice soon became smooth and fluent. "You know what little kids are like these days, they just don't know when to stop pretending."

I noticed the smug look that he gave Lucy and predicted the next couple of actions. Lucy burst into tears and ran out of the room, thundering as she went. Charlotte was first out the door, running after the child, being the only one that Lucy was completely sure believed her. Peter and Susan followed, Peter pushed Edmund down hard against the mattress as he went.

I turned to Edmund and pressed him down against the mattress harder, keeping him in place. He gave me a look that crossed between scared and confused.

"You were lying." I stated.

"I wasn't -" Edmund started, trying to save himself.

"You were lying. You did go to Narnia." I told him sharply, before loosing my grip on his shoulders and straightening myself out. "Tell me everything."

* * *

I followed the crying Lucy out of the room and down the corridors. Of course, she didn't know where she was going, she was just blindly running – I wasn't even sure where she going. It was when she ran into my Grandpa that I knew where I was.

Lucy looked up, terrified, at Grandpa before hugging him hard, her tears hitting his dressing gown. He looked down at the girl in surprise before looking at me, an out-of-breath me at that point, and raised an eyebrow.

"Is this your handy work?" Grandpa asked, gesturing to the child clinging him.

I shook my head. "Not me. I believe her. It's her -"

Peter and Susan rounded the corner that I'd come from and Mrs. Macready came from the other, furiously tying a knot in her pink dressing gown.

"You kids are one shenanigan shy of sleeping in the stable -" she yelled, angrily, stopping sharp when she saw Grandpa looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, Professor! I told them you were not to be disturbed."

"Oh, it's alright Mrs. Macready – I'm sure there's a logical explanation to all this. But I think this one is in need of some hot chocolate." Grandpa gently pushed the calming down Lucy into Mrs. Macready's arms. She nodded and led Lucy away, towards the kitchen.

Peter and Susan, who had stepped in front of me, turned to go only to stop when they heard Grandpa clear his throat. They turned back to him and we followed him into his office. I watched as Grandpa took the seat at his desk, taking some tobacco out of his sliver apple case and put it in his usual pipe.

"You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper." Grandpa commented coolly.

"We're very sorry sir. It won't happen again." Peter apologized.

"It's our sister, Lucy." Susan blurted.

Grandpa nodded. "The weeping girl?"

"Yes sir, she's upset." Susan answered.

"Hence the weeping." Grandpa pointed out. I couldn't stop the giggle that forced itself out.

"We can handle it!" Peter told him, grabbing Susan sleeve before hissing, "Let's go!"

"Oh, I can see that." Grandpa nodded.

Susan, ignoring Peter, took a step forward. "She thinks she's found a magical land in the upstairs wardrobe." she pointed accusingly at me. "She isn't helping!"

"What did you say?" Grandpa asked in shock, standing up and coming over to them.

"It's the wardrobe Grandpa." I spoke, causing everyone's attention to turn to me, "Lucy and I wandered into a forest, through the wardrobe."

Grandpa lead Susan, Peter and I over to the sofa at the other end of his room. We sat down next to each other, Grandpa sitting across from us, an excited look across his face.

"What was it like?" he asked.

"Like talking to a lunatic." Susan sighed in exasperation.

Grandpa looked confused for a moment before waving her off. "Not her – the forest!"

"You … you actually believe her?" Peter asked confused.

"Well don't you?" Grandpa asked surprised.

"This is what I tried to tell you before Mrs. Macready decided to show up and shout." I told him.

"Logically, it can't possibly be there!" Susan argued.

Grandpa sighed and I swear I heard him whisper, "What do they teach in school's these days?"

"Edmund said they were only pretending ..." Peter said slowly.

"And is he the more truthful one, is he?" I asked, watching them both.

Peter looked embarrassed as he looked down. "No, this would be the first."

"Well, then, if your sister isn't lying and isn't mad then _logically_," he explained, glancing between the siblings. "we must assume she's telling the truth. She's your sister isn't she? She's family! It's high time you started acting like one!"

* * *

**Feed my addiction! XD**


	4. Chapter 4: Everyone Believes!

**Disclaimer/Notes:**** C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. This is in third person.**

**Title:**** Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre:**** Romance/Adventure**

**Rating:**** T **

**Pairings:**** PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary:**** When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

* * *

Chapter Four: Everyone Believes!

The breeze was soothing especially on a day like this – it seemed too hot to be England! Charlotte was lent against a tree, away from the cricket game that was taking place in front of her, her eyes scanning over one of the old diaries her grandfather had wrote when he was a child about Narnia (she was determined to find out as much as she could about the mysterious place) her lips moving quickly but her voice low as she read aloud to Lucy and Alice, who were either leant against her or the tree behind them, listen attentively to what the older girl was saying.

She paused for a moment to brush a lock of dark hair from her face before she continued reading.

Peter, Susan and Edmund took the time outdoors to play cricket in the large field – like they would at home. The breeze would play to their advantage and (they hoped) distracted everyone from the crazy stories that Lucy and Charlotte had told about the magical place behind the wardrobe.

"Peter winds up, goes for the bowl!" Peter commentated loudly as he swung his arm above his head and release a ball. Both older siblings had to force themselves not to laugh as the hard ball hit Edmund, whom was daydreaming his eyes glazed over, in the leg and he let out an annoyed "Ouch!"

"Whoops!" Peter laughed, unable to contain it anymore, "Wake up, Dolly Daydream!"

Edmund shot his older brother a glare. "Why can't we play hide and seek?"

The three girls shot the boy a look over their book.

"I thought you said it was a kid's game." Peter said smugly.

"Besides … we can all use the fresh air." Susan added, trying to be optimistic.

"Not like there's air inside." Edmund grumbled under his breath to himself, throwing the ball back to his brother.

"Are you ready then?" Peter caught it.

"Are you?" the younger brother smacked his bat on the floor and got ready to hit the ball.

Peter pitched the ball, hard. Edmund swung the wooden bat, the ball hitting the object with an oddly sickening crack, before flying towards the main house. It crashed through the window and landed with a thud on the landing of the hallway.

"What did you just do?" Charlotte cried out, completely shocked, as she stood up and run towards the family, book clasped under her arm, her emerald eyes wide with shock.

"Oh God, Grandpa's going to kill us." Alice moaned out in despair before she took off running, Charlotte and the Pevensie family on her heels.

* * *

The window had a perfectly shaped circle in the stained glass. The suit of armour that usually stood proudly against the wall now lay, slightly dismantled, on the hard wooden floor. Amongst it was the cricket ball and coloured glass shards.

"Well done Ed!" Peter said sarcastically.

"You bowled it!" Edmund argued.

"He does have a point there." Charlotte pointed out, shooting Peter a smug grin when Peter shot her a glare.

"Listen …" Alice interrupted before anything could escalate. Everyone paused – footsteps could be heard moving quickly towards them.

Susan's eyes widened fearfully. "It's the Macready!"

"Run!" Peter ordered in a hushed tone.

They didn't need to be told twice. The group of six moved as fast as they could, through the long corridors, trying to get as far away from the footsteps of the housekeeper as possible.

Charlotte paused when they reached a familiar hallway, unsure of what to do. Edmund ran in front tugging at the first door before moving to the second which, as expected, opened easily. Everyone entered, too worried about what would happen if they were caught to pay attention to where they would.

It was only when Edmund ran towards the wardrobe, the only thing that inhabited the room that everyone stopped, debating the hiding place.

"Come on!" he urged, his hand on the handle of the door.

"You've got to be kidding me …" Susan muttered, clearly annoyed. She had hoped they could put the childish ideas (and this wardrobe) as far behind them as possible.

The footsteps got closer, louder.

They had no other choice.

"Go!" Peter commanded quickly, shuffling everyone hurriedly towards the wooden furniture. He did vaguely wonder how all six of them would fit in such a small wardrobe but he didn't really have the time to try and figure that out.

As the wardrobe door clicked shut behind them, the anticipation rose within Charlotte. Would they end up in Narnia again? Would the older Pevensie's finally believe her and Lucy? Where those stories her father told her real? She knew that there was a White Witch because of Mr. Tummus but was it the same one from the stories her Grandfather told her? Was it all true, real?

"Get back!" she heard Susan hiss from in front of her and dutifully took a step back. Lucy grasped her hand, using her for guidance in the darkness and among the softness of the fur coats, and Charlotte gladly took comfort in her innocent trust.

She winced as her foot was stepped on.

"Sorry Charlotte!"

Something hit the side of her face.

Her feet rolled awkwardly, unsteadily on the ground.

"Bloody moth balls!" she heard Alice curse.

"Ow! You're stepping on my feet!"

"Move Edmund! You're walking too slowly!"

"I'm trying!"

Then Charlotte landed on the floor with a groan. She was about to move when another body landed on top of hers, warming her but making her fall further into the snow beneath her.

_Wait … Snow?_

"Peter, get off me." She spoke urgently; desperate to find out whether she was right – hoping she was right.

He flushed and rolled off her. "Sorry …" he mumbled.

She stood up quickly and approached the side of her sister and the youngest Pevensie child. They exchanged look and grinned widely.

"So, everything Grandpa told us was true?" Alice asked, "The stories weren't just fantasy? Something he made up to get us to sleep as children?"

"No … apparently not" Charlotte quirked an eyebrow and smirked. "Unless you have another explanation for the winter world in the back of the wardrobe that we remember Grandpa showing us?"

"Impossible!" Susan breathed out, shocked.

Lucy smirked and rocked back on her heels smugly. "Don't worry; it's probably just your imagination."

The Kirke sister giggled behind their hands as they watched the Pevensie siblings' interaction.

"I don't suppose saying 'we're sorry' would cover it?" Peter said softly, smiling hopefully at his younger sister.

"No, it wouldn't..." Lucy's smirk widened, her hand coming forward and throwing a snowball, hard, towards her brother. He gasped as the ice hit him, "But that might!"

Peter mock glares at her and throws a snowball of his own, catching her on the shoulder. Lucy returns the throw and accidently hits Susan, who throws one of her own. Her lack of aim caused the ice ball to miss her younger sister and hit the Kirk sister's. They gasped, glared and – in unison – threw snowballs of their own. The two families continued to fight, the excitement of the snow and the mysterious place making them all grin and glow with excitement.

But that all ended when Alice accidently landed one on the solemn Edmund, who was standing away from the group and staring out into the distance.

"Ow!" he glared at the girl, startling her, as he rubbed his arm, "Stop it!"

Realisation dawned on them.

"You little liar!" Peter glared moving towards his younger brother with a purposeful stride.

"You didn't believe her either!" he defended himself, taking a subconscious step back.

"Apologise to Lucy." The blond said firmly, taking a step forward, "Say you're sorry."

"Alright! I'm sorry." Edmund finished lamely looking at his sister.

"It's alright; some little children just don't know when to stop pretending." Lucy repeated her brother's words from early, making Charlotte laugh and hugs her to her hip.

Edmund gave her a look and muttered, "Very funny."

"Maybe we should go back." Susan said after a moments silence, looking unsure of herself.

"Can't we at least take a look around?" Edmund said quickly, gesturing to the area of snow around him. Alice gave him a suspicious look which lasted a slip second before her gaze dropped to the snow covered ground again.

"I think Lucy should decide!" Peter announced, smiling at his little sister. Charlotte grinned, shared a look with the younger girl and nodded encouragingly.

Lucy jumped excitedly on the balls of her feet. "I want you all to meet Mr. Tummus!"

"Well then, Mr. Tummus it is."

"We can't just walk around in these clothes! We'll freeze." Susan objected.

"We can use these coats." He gestured in the direction they had come from.

Peter headed towards the back of the wardrobe and pulled a collect of huge furry coats from inside, handing one out to each of the group. Charlotte smiled in thank you, with he returned awkwardly as she shrugged on the huge white coat that she seemed to be surround by.

"Peter, they don't belong to us." Susan gave him a look as she accepted the coat from his hands.

"Well, I don't think the Professor would mind." Peter helped Lucy into hers, "And if you think about it _logically_ we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe."

He held a black and white coat out to Edmund.

"But that's a girl's coat!" Edmund stared at the coat.

"I know."

Charlotte and Alice struggled to hide their laughter behind their hands.


	5. Chapter 5: Just The Beginning

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ****This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

* * *

Chapter Five: Just The Beginning

Lucy's excitement was contagious. She held the hands of Charlotte and Peter, talking excitedly of all that would happen when they reached the faun's house. She seemed even happier than usual as they traipsed through the snow, glad that her family finally believed her. Charlotte did have to cut her off at one point though, the urge too great to suppress.

"I'm sorry Lucy. One minute," she said, smiling mischievously, before rushing forwards in the thick snow, sliding down a slope and landing, giggling, at the base. There was laughter behind her before she saw a bashful looking Peter appear beside her, equally as snow covered. The momentary pause in the journey made room for some childish fun: Susan has fallen back into a snow dune to create a snow angel while Lucy had joined Charlotte in a very bad attempt at burying Peter under the snow, like one might do with sand at the beach. The only ones that seemed to not be happy about the prospect of being in an improbable ice world were Edmund, who was distracted by something, and Alice, who was worried about her new friend. Though she did not know the young Pevensie personally, she could tell something was wrong. It was this gut feeling that just would not go away and, strangely, it had started since the night that Edmund apparently went to Narnia, though he lied about it.

_Alice's alive eyes remained narrowed suspiciously as she pinned the slightly older boy to his bed, not allowing him to escape – though he did try. Edmund glared up at her and tried to buck her off but Alice stayed rooted in place and tightened her grip on his wrists that she was holding in place on either side of his head. _

"_Let go of me Alice!" he hissed annoyed._

"_Uh-uh. No way. Not until you tell me what happened tonight." Alice stated firmly._

"_I already told you. I was just playing with Lucy – nothing happened!"_

"_Ed, you seem to have forgotten that I'm a younger sibling too. I know exactly what a lying face is," The youngest Kirk reminded, "Plus, if you keep insisting that this is all a game, then you're saying that both Lucy and Charlotte are lairs. Now, I don't know about your sister but, if my sister is anything, she is not a liar. Now tell me what really happened."_

_The dark haired teenager hesitated, just staring up at the girl looming over him, before he sighed in defeat. "I followed Lucy – I wanted to scare her is all. I wasn't expecting to end up in the snow. She'd disappeared to god knows where, I didn't know what was happening and then…"_

"_And then what?"_

"…_And then she showed up. I didn't know who she was – she said she was the Queen. She gave me Turkish Delights. Said she wanted to meet you and Lucy a-and the others…she seemed nice…"_

_After checking if there was any hint of a lie, Alice pulled back and sat down beside him. Her olive eyes relaxed, she watched silently as Edmund sat up slowly, rubbing one of his wrists. Guilt filled her as she realised she had hurt someone._

"_Sorry…" Alice mumbled. She gently held onto one of his wrists and caressed the slightly reddened flesh with the side of her thumb, "Why didn't you just say so when Peter asked?"_

_Without saying a word, Edmund shrugged with his head down, taking his hand back rather violently._

She could not seem to enjoy herself in this wonderful, fairytale place when she was worried about what the youngest Pevensie brother would do. She didn't trust this so called Queen. She was not sure why though; it was just a feeling in the pit of her stomach. Smiling slightly at the scene of bonding before her, she reached out and grasped the sleeve of the grey coat he was wearing. Edmund looked at Alice questionably at the light pressure, before hesitantly turning back when he realised she was not looking at him. He did not comment on the hold.

It took almost five minutes to get moving again as they resumed their previous positions, continuing the journey to Mr. Tummus' house. Lucy had restarted her happy conversation of what would happen once they reached their destination.

"…and lots and lots of food, and lots and…" the smile slowly slipped from her childish face leaving only shock and fear.

"Lucy…?" Confused, Charlotte followed the young girl's gaze and terror gripped her tightly as her eyes landed on the familiar house with the door broken in and scratched. Something was wrong here, completely wrong. No thought was involved as the two previous visitors to Narnia raced forwards to the abandoned house, ignoring the loud calls of their names behind them. They only stopped when they entered the house, when their fears were recognised.

The small house that had once been presented so beautifully was now in ruins: papers were scattered across the floor; furniture was over turned; glass was smashed and scratches marked the once smooth wood varnish of the floorboards. Lucy gripped Charlotte's hand tightly as they cautiously walked into the house, scared, approaching a slightly curled piece of paper – maybe parchment – that was pinned to one of the foundation pillars and stood out against the tatters of the room. The two girls did not touch the paper, just stared blankly. That was how the other four found them.

Peter gave them a questioning look before, slowly, turning to the pinned piece of paper. "The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tummus," he read aloud, "is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with Humans…signed Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long live the Queen."

"Now we really should go back," Susan started after a moment of awkward, uneasy silence.

"But we have to help him!" Lucy objected/

"It's out of our hands now Lu."

"You don't get it, do you?" the young girl sounded hopeless, "We're the humans…she must have found out he helped us…"

"Maybe we should call the police…" Peter suggested weakly.

Susan snatched the paper from her brother and shook it at him. "These are the police!"

"Besides, he's a criminal." Edmund piped in from behind them.

Charlotte hugged Lucy gently and held her tongue at the overemotional outburst that threatened to spill over. She knew that it would do nothing but upset Lucy and she was distressed enough.

"Don't worry Lucy, we'll think of something." Peter smiled encouragingly.

"There must be something we can do – there is always a loophole right?" Alice pointed out.

Silence filled the room, each inhabitance deep in thought. It was interrupted by a low whispering noise outside. They turned at the noise to see a small robin perched on a snow covered branch. The bird's beak parted and the sound repeated.

"Did that bird…just 'psst' at us?" Susan questioned in disbelief.

Wary, the six young children exited the destroyed house, eyes trained on the bird. It fluttered its wings and flew away, when rustling from the bushes could be heard. Lucy grasped the hand of her eldest brother and close friend, as Susan held on to her brother's free arm expectantly. Nervous, Alice reached out to grasp her sister's coat and tightened her grip on Edmund. Unknowingly, the boy shifted closer to his little family. They visibly relaxed when the source of the noise was discovered.

"A beaver?" Alice stage-whispered.

The small creature sniffed the air and shuffled closer to them.

Unsure of himself, Peter took small steps forward, holding out his hand and clicking his tongue. "Here boy…here boy…"

The beaver was less than a metre from the blond's raised hand when he rose up onto his hind legs and stared blankly at the offending limb. "Well, I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want."

"Oh…ah…sorry…" Peter stammered, blinking completely shocked by the sudden east end voice emitting from the animal. Susan and Edmund joined him while the Kirk sister's and Lucy giggled behind their hands.

"Lucy Pevensie?" the Beaver spoke seriously. The laughter stopped and the smile dropped.

"Yes?"

Mr. Beaver moved forward and out stretched a paw, which held a lace handkerchief. Lucy accepted the fabric and traced the inscription with her thumb. "This is the hanky I gave to Mr…"

"Tummus," Mr. Beaver interrupted, "He gave it to me just before they took him."

"Is he alright?" Charlotte asked anxiously.

He looked around suspiciously. "Further in," he dropped onto all fours and scurried off. Almost instantly, Peter, Lucy and Charlotte went to follow but were stopped by Susan's hand on Peter's coat, pulling him to a halt.

"Peter, what are you doing?" she hissed.

"How do we know we can trust this beaver?" Edmund questioned.

"He says he knows the faun," the eldest Pevensie pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"He's a beaver," Susan spoke exasperated, "He shouldn't be saying anything!"

"Is everything alright?" Mr. Beaver asked, reappearing from the leaves.

"Yes," Peter instantly took charge, straightening up, "we were just talking…"

"That's better left for safer corners," the beaver commented, once again glancing around suspiciously before disappearing.

"He means the trees," Lucy explained mysteriously, her own dark eyes darting from tree to tree. The anxiety within them grew at the ambiguous statement.


	6. Chapter 6: Den Revelations

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ****This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

* * *

Chapter Six: Den Revelations

The Beaver's Den was not that far from Mr. Tummus' house, just through the cliffs and under a bridge – though it was still a hard journey to travel through the thick snow and ice. Alice slipped once (though not on purpose) on an uneven and slippery patch and let out a squeak of surprise. She clenched her eyes shut, bracing herself for the impact of the fall but opened them, surprised, when it did not happen.

"Are you alright?" Edmund asked in a whispered voice, carefully straightening the fallen girl back on her feet.

Alice slowly turned pink, her eyes widening even more than usual, for reasons unbeknown to her. She nodded quickly before carefully, but quickly, shuffled down the slope, leaving Edmund very confused. She struck her tongue out childishly when Charlotte turned and smirked knowingly.

The dam came into view in the horizon. Small, but cosy, the home was made from branches and twigs, and snow-covered. The homey feeling was created by the yellow glow streaming through the crossed window and the puffs of smoke flowing from an open chimney breast. Smiles broke out across the group.

"There it is, home sweet home," Mr. Beaver announced, scurrying in front of them.

"It's lovely." Lucy exclaimed, smiling.

"Merely a trifle, but it'll be the business when it's done." The beaver waved off the compliment, though there was still a hint of pride in his tone.

From within the walls of the small dam, a feminine voice could be heard through the silence. The mild anger in her voice was obvious. "Is that you Beaver?" the front door opened and a female beaver exited the house, walking on her hind legs, "If I find out you've been out with Badger again I'll…" she trailed off, her eyes wide with shock, which instantly melted into happiness as she hurried forward, "Oh, they're not Badgers. I never thought I would live to see the day." In a harsh whisper, she spoke to her husband, "You couldn't give me ten minutes warning – look at my fur!"

"I would have given you a week if I though it would have helped." He chuckled sheepishly. Charlotte smiled at the marital banter.

"Well, come on in. Let's see if we can't get you some food…and some civilised company." Mrs. Beaver shot at her husband.

Peter walked into the small dam first, leading Lucy, Charlotte and Susan into the home. Alice approached the door before pausing, glancing back to see Edmund staring off into space one again. She bit her lip worriedly.

"Enjoying the scenery, are we?" Mr. Beaver asked quietly, disrupting the boy's train of thought. He did not speak, merely blinked before continuing on his way.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked concerned.

Edmund mumbled something inaudible under his breath before pushing past her. She followed a moment later.

Charlotte flushed, smiling slightly, when Peter offered to help her with her coat. He looked at her expectantly, patiently.

"I am not lacking in anyway Peter. I can take my coat off by myself." She pointed out.

"I have no doubt but my parents raised me as a gentleman. Now, may I help you with your coat?" he pressed.

Her smiled turned coy. "Well…I wouldn't want to disrespect your parents…"

From her place, Susan watched her brother and the eldest Kirke sister, and smirked in amusement at his obvious attempt at flirting. Back home, Peter was in no way a ladies' man, though she knew many girls who had crushes on her elder brother (Edmund was far too young at the moment for that sort of thing – she hoped, at least). Peter caught her gaze and glared mockingly, almost warningly, his cheeks dusted a pinkish colour.

Susan's smile widened.

"Is there anything we can do to help Mr. Tummus?" Peter asked.

"If the Witch has got him, they'd have taken him to the castle." Mr. Beaver explained.

"Is there no way to help him from there then?" Charlotte wondered, almost defeated.

"Well, you know what they say; theirs not many that enter the Witches house and come out again."

Lucy looked downcasted when Mrs. Beaver quickly placed a plate of food in front of her and loudly announced, "Fish and chips!" Lucy gave her a small smile and she rested a hand on the young girl's shoulder, "There's hope dear, lots and lots of hope…"

Mr. Beaver choked into his drink. "Blimey, there's a right bit more than hope. Aslan is on the move…"

Although no one (except Alice and Charlotte, who still held a vague recognition of the name) knew the meaning or the creature behind the name, smiles came to their faces and a warm feeling coiled in the pits of their stomachs. It was a pleasant feeling.

"Who's Aslan?" Edmund thought aloud.

Mr. Beaver laughed. "'Who's Aslan?' You cheeky, little blighter…" the laughter trailed off into shock when he saw their blank faces, "You…you don't know do you?"

"Well we haven't exactly been here long," Peter defended.

"He's only the king of the whole wood, the top geezer…the real king of Narnia," Mr. Beaver summarized, sounding almost panicked at their lack of knowledge, "And he's been waiting for you!"

"Waiting for us?"

"You're joking!" he turned to his wife, "They don't even know about the prophecy!"

"Well then," Mrs. Beaver gestured towards the human children.

He sighed deeply and looked at the six children seriously. "Look Aslan's return, Tummus' arrest…the secret police! It's all happening because of you!"

"You're blaming us?" Susan questioned shocked.

"No, no, not blaming – thanking." Mrs. Beaver assured.

"There's…a prophecy. When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits in Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done." Mr. Beaver recalled.

"You know that doesn't rhyme," Susan pointed out.

"Yeah, I know that, but you're kinda missing the point."

"It has long been foretold that two Sons' of Adam and four Daughters' of Eve will appear to defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia." Mrs. Beaver finished, beaming.

"A-and you think we're the ones?" Peter enquired, stunned.

"Well, you better be 'cuz Aslan's already fitted out you're army!" Mr. Beaver retorted.

"Oh, army?"

"Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in any wars…" Susan muttered to her brother.

"I think you're making a mistake…we're not heroes." Peter stated softly.

"We're from London." Susan added.

"You can't expect us to fight in some war." Charlotte finished a hint of alarm in her voice and her facial expression. Peter rested a hand on her wrist gently.

He stood up slowly. "I think it's time we were going."

"But what about Mr. Tummus?" Lucy questioned unhappily.

Charlotte paused in her movements, looking trouble. "I don't want to fight…but we have to help him. It's our fault he's here in the first place."

"It's out of our hands now." Susan told her sister gently. She glanced at the Beavers. "Thank you for your hospitality, but we really must be going."

"Ed, time to go," Peter paused, waiting for an answer. When he received none, he glanced around the room confused, "Ed?"

"Peter, I can't see Alice." Charlotte told him, gripping his arm tightly.

His eyes darkened in anger. "I'm going to kill him."

"You may not have to…" Mr. Beaver's stern voice caused the attention of the room to shift to him. His face held no emotion as he spoke, "…Has Edmund or Alice ever been to Narnia before?"


	7. Chapter 7: The Witches House

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ****This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

* * *

Chapter 7: The Witches House

"Edmund!"

He paused in his step, gritted his teeth, and turned on his heel to glare darkly behind him. Alice hugged his arms tightly in an attempt to stay warm and struggled through the snow to get closer to the Pevensie.

"What?" he snapped.

"What's wrong with you?" Alice questioned, her eyes narrowed in frustration, "Why did you leave without us – where are you going?"

Edmund, who had already turned to continue on his way, scoffed. "You know, you ask a lot of questions."

"And you don't answer any," she retorted.

He sighed. "Just go back Alice. I'm sure your sister is worried about you."

"Your siblings will be worried about you too," Alice tried, stumbling slightly in the heavy snow before catching herself. Edmund shook his head disbelievingly, but stayed silent, trudging forward.

"We don't know our way around here," she spoke again when she received no response, "We're in the middle of a snow covered world I've only heard about in my Grandpa's storybooks – it's freezing out here. Where do you think you're going?"

"It doesn't matter. Just turn around and go back Alice." Edmund ordered, speeding up with a new found determination.

Alice struggled to catch up. Despite the obvious dismissal she had received, she could not just leave him out here. She was worried about him and, although she hated to admit it, she cared about Edmund, and about what happened to him. She was not about to let him go wandering on his own, especially when she knew he would most likely be making the journey to see that Queen that "seemed so nice".

Her foot caught on something hidden in the snow – probably a stone or something – and she could not right herself in time. She fell on the cold, icy ground, hard, with a cry. Her head dropped onto her arms that had come out to support her when she dropped, her eyes stung with tears of frustration. She blinked tearfully and hiccupped. Her hands curled into fists.

There was an exasperated sigh and Alice looked up to see Edmund standing above her, his hand out in front of him.

"Come on, you're really hopeless. I can't leave you alone out here. You'll be eaten out here and something."

Alice was pulled to her feet quickly. She watched her ice lined feet with interest. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, annoyed by the sudden appearance, sniffing loudly. Edmund watched her for a moment, before rolling his eyes and wrapping one arm around her shoulder, dragging her close to his hip. Her cheeks red, she blinked owlishly at him.

"For warmth – I can't have you freezing out here," Edmund teased, "Keep moving clumsy. It's getting cold." He urged her forward with a slight roll of his shoulder.

Nodding quickly, she hesitantly slid her arm around his waist, gripping the side of his jumper. He did not react, merely smiled and encouraged their joint movements across the snow covered trail.

Nervously, she bit her bottom lip. '_Just where exactly are we going…and, more importantly, why…'_

* * *

Charlotte scrambled up the Cliffside, close on Peter's heels, as they followed the deep sinking footsteps after their younger siblings that had left behind in the snow. Silently, she hoped they would be able to catch them before it is too late.

She slowed to a stop when Peter paused at the top, staring across the icy landscape to the towering castle just in time to see the tall doors shit behind their younger siblings. Charlotte moved forward, ready to break into a run, only to be stopped by Peter throwing his arm out in front of her. He stared out in front of him for a moment, before he began an awkward sprint through the snow.

Mr. Beaver latched onto his sleeve, pulling him to a stop. Peter struggled. "Get off me!"

"We can't just let him go!" Lucy objected.

"Don't you get it?" Mr. Beaver hissed, frustrated, "They're the bait! She wants all of ya to stop the prophecy from coming true – to kill ya!"

There was a deathly silence, as if the truth and seriousness of the matter had sunk in. Charlotte hugged herself tightly, staring out at the still fairytale scene.

"This is all your fault!" Susan turned on her elder brother, her eyes flashed angrily.

Peter scoffed disbelievingly. "My fault?"

"None of this would have happened if you had listened to me in the first place!"

"So you knew this was going to happen?"

"I didn't know what would happen...which is why we should have left while we still could!"

"Stop it!" Lucy shouted, putting a stop to the argument and dragging the attention to her. Her voice dropped in volume. "This isn't going to help Edmund, or Alice."

"She's right," Mr. Beaver agreed, "Only Aslan can help your siblings now."

Peter, his jaw set and his face stony with determination levelled his gaze. "Then take us to him."

Charlotte didn't move, just bit her bottom lip and continued to gaze out. Lucy watched her for a moment, before reaching out to take her hand comfortingly.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," she assured optimistically.

Charlotte smiled weakly at the younger girl. "I hope so..."

* * *

The courtyard was shadowed with darkness, making the scattered stone statues seem even deadlier than before. The noise of their footsteps slapping against the cobbled steps as both young teenagers travelled along the winding path.

Alice glanced at a statue of a towering giant, club and arms raised in a way that showed he was ready to attack his enemies, and shivered noticeably with dread. She _really_ did not like it here. In an almost frantic way, she glanced around for her friend – she refused to be left alone in such a place. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

"Ed! What are you doing?" she hissed and hurried to the boy's side.

He chuckled with dark amusement, dropping the charcoal to the floor where he had found it. He turned to her with a wide smile. "Come on Alice, it's a statue. What could possibly happen?"

"We're currently in a world at the back of my Grandpa's wardrobe. We were in a dam having a conversation with talking beavers about how we are supposed to be the ones to save this land from an evil dictator. Our sister's are friends with a faun. I don't think that is the right question at this moment in time, Edmund."

He rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "whatever" before he turned and began to continue along the pathway. Alice hurriedly followed, staying close.

Alice did not know whether he thought the large rise was a log, or just another statue, as his leg stretched over the large form, but it scared both of them when the form moved sharply and swiftly to pin Edmund to the icy steps.

"State your name and purpose here," the large grey timber wolf growled threateningly.

Edmund's voice showed genuine fear as he struggled under the huge paws. "I'm Edmund – I met the Queen in the woods! She asked me to come here!"

The wolf growled once more.

"I'm the Son of Adam!"

There was a pause, a silence where Alice watched with bated breath, before the animal climbed off and bowed his head slightly. "My apologies fortunate favourite of the Queen – or maybe, not so fortunate."

He turned towards Alice and snarled, eying her suspiciously.

"She's a friend," Edmund spoke quickly.

He seemed to accept the answer as he stepped back and gestured with his head for them to follow him. Alice found herself latching onto Edmund's arm as he followed, keeping a nervous eye on the powerful movements of the four-legged mammal.

"Wait here," he ordered firmly.

The throne room was vast, stretching more than a mile long and, next to where they stood; a glorious ice throne with a layer of white fur for comfort was at the head of it all. Edmund circled the large chair for a moment before sliding himself comfortably into the seat. A content smile played on his lips as he ran his hands across the arms of the chair. For a moment, Alice felt he looked at home on that throne, natural and royal. Hesitantly, Alice reached out to touch the smooth sculpture.

"You like it?"

Both teenagers jumped, surprised and slightly scared, at the smooth just cold voice. Alice took a step back and Edmund blinked startled, moving quickly from her chair.

"Ye…yes, Your Majesty…" he stuttered.

The White Witch stood, intimidating, over them, a small smile on her face that made Alice feel as if she was the prey, and the Witch was the predator.

"I thought you might," she commented, moving to take her place on the throne. It was from there she glanced at Alice, "And who is your darling little friend?"

"This is Alice Kirke, the girl I told you about," Edmund introduced eagerly.

Alice could not react. It was as if she was frozen in place, just by one stare. She barely had the right frame of mind to tense her body to suppress the shiver that ran down her spine. She was sure she had gone light-headed from lack of oxygen before the White Witch turned away and she released a breath she did not realise she was holding.

"Tell me Edmund, are your sister's deaf?" the Witch questioned.

"No…" Edmund answered, his expression confused.

"…And your brother is he…unintelligent?"

"Well I think so, but Mum says…"

She stood up so quickly, Edmund had fallen in a heap at the suddenness and Alice let out a surprise squeak. Her face had completely morphed into something much more terrifying.

"Then how dare you come alone! Edmund, I asked so little of you…"

"They just don't listen to me!" he answered his eyes wide and panic in his voice.

"Couldn't even do that!" she stepped forward threateningly; her wand poise, and Edmund flinched.

"No, don't hurt him! They're halfway, at a dam with the Beavers!" Alice blurted, fear and alarm in her voice, as she flitted nervously to the boy. He turned to her with wide eyes.

The Witch relaxed her movements and gave her a frosty look. "Well…it seems you're not a total lose then…"

Edmund scrambled to his feet and hesitantly approached the Witch. "Is there any chance I-I may have some…Turkish delight now?"

Alice tugged sharply at his jumper. "Turkish Delight? Turkish Delight!" she hissed, "You brought us here for Turkish Delight?"

As expected, he did not react to her words.

The Witch smirked amused. "Ginnabrick, our guest is hungry."

A bearded dwarf seemed to appear out of nowhere, a cruel smile on his face. "This way…" a silver dagger roughly jabbed at Edmund's back; his free hand grasped Alice's wrist tightly in a way that was sure to bruise, "…for your num nums…"

As a wolf's howl echoed through the stone corridors, as they were both forcibly moved to god knows where, Alice felt tears sting her eyes as a feeling of dread covered her like a blanket of artic frost.

She choked a sob. _'God, what did I do…?'_


	8. Chapter 8: Escape Route

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ****This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

* * *

Chapter 8: Escape Route

"Hurry Mama, they're after us!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed as he burst through the door of the small dam, a frantic look on his face, followed by the four panting humans.

Mrs. Beaver dropped her knitting (something she tended to do when nervous to calm herself down) and jumped to her feet. "Right then..." Hurriedly, she moved to the kitchen cupboards and began to take out different arrays of food, much to everyone's confusion.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked.

"No offense, Mrs. Beaver, but is now really the time for food?" Charlotte spoke exasperated.

Mrs. Beaver seemed unfazed, gesturing for Susan to help her. "You'll thank me later. It's a long journey and Beaver gets cranky when he's hungry."

"I'm cranky now!" Mr. Beaver exploded.

"Do you think we'll need jam?" Susan wondered.

"Only if the Witch serves toast," Peter scoffed.

Mr. Beaver sighed heavily, as if in defeat, and scurried to one section of the small dam, pushing against the side of a bookcase. After a moment or two, Charlotte and Lucy moved to help him.

"What's this?" she wondered aloud.

"Our way out," Mr. Beaver explained simply. His eyes widened when the scratching of wolf claws seemed to get louder, closer, "Get in."

Peter climbed in first to help everyone quickly into the hole. It was quite a drop and he was the tallest, and strongest, followed by Lucy, Susan, Mrs. Beaver and, after some arguments, Mr. Beaver. Charlotte managed to slide the shelf over, ever so slightly, to buy them more time before she allowed herself to drop. Peter caught her, bridal style, not even seeming to buckle under her weight. Still, she clung to his shoulders just in case.

Peter arched an eyebrow with amusement. "Are you okay?"

Charlotte hummed and wiggled out of his grip, keeping her hands on him until her feet were placed steadily on the ground. "Come on," she urged after one glance at the entrance to the tunnel.

It was dark and cramped inside the narrow passageway, awkward to move through at the fast pace that they were travelling at. Mr. Beaver led them through the many curving paths (the chaotic design was obviously a well-planned building move for a situation such as this) whilst Peter followed, holding a lit torch a head of them so everyone could see where they were stepping.

"Badger and I made this – comes up right near his place," Mr. Beaver explained.

"You told me it led to your mums!" Mrs. Beaver chided something her husband ignored.

Lucy stumbled, Susan catching her just before she hit the ground completely. There was a second of quiet where an echoing howl could be heard somewhere behind them, that told them the danger that was approaching.

"They're in the tunnel..." Lucy whispered fearfully.

They began to move with more vigour than before; the howling in the distance succeeding in making a high-level of terror affect their senses. Even Mr. Beaver seemed to be having problems when they were led into yet another dead end. He said nothing as he started to dig their way out.

"You should have brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed.

Her husband stopped what he was doing to reply to her sarcastically, "there was no room next to the jam!" before he continued at a speedy pace. Mrs. Beaver sighed in defeat at her husband's antics and attempted to assist him.

It was seconds later that the wall crumbled and, directly in front of them, was a glow of natural sunlight. With a small breath of relief, Charlotte ran with the others, quickly assisting Lucy through the gap in the ceiling. Peter gave her a boost up and she helped Susan. Peter was the last out, both young girls gripping his coat to help. A relieved feeling settled over the group as Peter, with Mr. Beaver, rolled a heavy barrel over the entrance.

Lucy glanced around, stepping backwards, and tumbled to find herself staring wide eyed at a stone collection of squirrels, gofers and rabbits. She crumbled to her feet and Peter pulled her against his front, holding her close with a braced arm.

Mrs. Beaver comforted her husband as he stared sadly at one particular statue of a badger. He gently brushed some snow off his snout. "He was my best mate..."

"What happened here?" Peter questioned.

He was not expecting an answer so he jumped his nerves on end from the previous chase, at the unfamiliar voice that did reply.

"This is what happens to those who betray the witch," the Fox stood proudly on a bulky collection of rocks, his tail raised and swaying.

His wife struggled to hold him back as Mr. Beaver stepped forward, ready to attack. "Stay back traitor or I'll tear you to splinters."

"Relax," Fox chuckled, casually stepping onto a lower rock pile, "I'm one of the good guys."

"Yeah, well you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones," Mr. Beaver sneered.

"An unfortunate family resemblance," Fox replied airily, "but we can argue breeding later. Right now we have to move."

Nervously, Charlotte reached out to cling to the sleeve to the person closest to her, who just happened to be Susan. She smiled weakly at her new friend, who returned it. A howl was heard from underground and Charlotte tensed instantly.

"What do you have in mind?" Peter asked quickly.

Fox smirked slyly and raised his eyes upward suggestively.

* * *

Charlotte stared up, wide-eyed, at the tree she was supposed to climb. The Beavers and Lucy were already situated on the one of the top branches looking awkward. Susan was half way up and Peter was hurrying her along at the base of the trunk.

"Lottie, what are you doing?" he hissed.

"...I should probably have mentioned this before, but um...I'm afraid of heights..." Charlotte admitted quietly.

"What?" he gapped in disbelief, "We don't have time for this...you'll have to get over this, at least for now."

"Peter, I..." she shook her head.

The growling became louder.

Peter grasped her hand and tugged her towards the tree trunk. "Just climb Lottie. I'll be right behind you, just hurry..."

She hesitated for a moment before, shakily, put her foot on the lowest branch to hike herself upwards. She moved as fast as she could, biting her bottom lip and willing herself to not look down. From below her, she could hear Peter's low voice encouraging her on and, she had to admit, it did calm her down.

She had just balanced herself on one of the branches, with Peter's arm holding her in place, when the rock was violently knocked away and a pack of wolves burst through the hole. She swayed slightly, woozy from the height, and shut her eyes tightly. Peter grasped her hand, his eyes near leaving the encounter below.

Fox, who had been brushing away their footprints with many swipes of his tail, looked up innocently at the beasts that were so much larger than him. "Evening gents. Lost something have we?"

The leader of the pack – Maugrim, Charlotte assumed – snapped back. "Don't patronize me. I know where you're allegiances lie. We're looking for some humans."

Fox laughed, "Humans, here in Narnia? Now that's a valuable piece of information..." he let out a sharp cry of pain when one of the unknown wolves attacked him, latching onto his torso tightly with his powerful jaw.

Lucy gasped and Peter covered her mouth quickly.

"Answer me and you'll be rewarded with your life. It's not much," Maugrim laughed darkly, "but still. Where are the fugitives?"

Fox looked around hopelessly before bowing his head in shame. For a moment, everyone held their breath, thinking he would betray them. It was a hard situation to not tell the truth in. Charlotte clenched Peter's hand nervously, looking for some kind of support, and turned her face into his shoulder.

"...North; they rain north..." Fox spoke defeated and Charlotte let out a small breath of relief.

"Smell them out," Maugrim ordered.

Fox was released with a growl, and sent flying to land in a heap on the snowy ground. He slumped pathetically.

When a safe amount of time had passed, the journey down the tree was made (Peter helping an embarrassed Charlotte onto the safety of the floor) and a camp had been set up. Huddled in their fur coats, the four humans watched Mrs. Beaver tend to the Fox's wounds, concerned.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite," Fox yelped and jerked violently, "Ow!"

Mrs. Beaver sighed in annoyance. "Stop squirming! You're worse than Beaver on bath day."

"Worse day of the year," Mr. Beaver shuddered overdramatically, making Lucy giggle and Charlotte smile.

Fox straightened up and shook his fur out. "I'm afraid that is all the healing I have time for..."

Charlotte and Lucy looked surprised. "You're leaving?"

"It's been a pleasure, my Lady, my Queen, and an honour," Fox bowed slightly, "but I have been asked by Aslan himself to gather more troops."

The two beavers sat up, eyes wide at the announcement.

"You've seen Aslan?"

"What's he like?"

Fox smiled softly. "Like everything we ever dreamed of." He turned to Peter, "You'll be glad to have him by your side during the battle against the Witch."

"But we're not planning on fighting any witch," Susan insisted.

Fox appeared downcasted. "Surely King Peter...prophecy..." he trailed off pleadingly.

"We can't go to war without ya," Mr. Beaver explained sadly.

Peter stared into the flames, poking the firewood with a stick to keep the fire going. His blue eyes showed his indecision, his insecurity. In a way she hoped was comforting, Charlotte reached out to grasp his free hand, squeezing it tightly and offering him a tight-lipped smile. He clenched his hand around her in return, the right corner of his mouth twitched upwards. He turned back to the Narnians and sighed.

"We just want our siblings back."


	9. Chapter 9: Spring is Coming!

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ****This is in third person.**** I want to thank my Narnia beta, **_**Evanescence2189**_** (she's amazing – read her work!) who has helped with some of these ideas and has helped me improve my ideas for this story, as well as adding some of her own **** Much love x**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

* * *

Chapter 9: Spring is coming!

The dungeons of Jadis's palace were cramped, freezing, and damp as Edmund and Alice were chained together with iron clamps. Finally, after many failed attempts, they had given up trying to escape the strong, ice enclosure that kept them. Now they sat in a silence, pensive and slightly awkward.

Alice kept her gaze on her feet, as she mentally berated herself for her own stupidity. '_What have we done? What have _I _done? How could I have ratted out innocent people, let alone my own sister?_' she thought, cupping a hand over her mouth as she looked to the ground.

Edmund shifted uncomfortably, but reached for the little food that had been left untouched, and had been brought down for them a few minutes after they had arrived.

"Can't you think of anything but your stomach?" Alice hissed harshly, not even lifting her regard of the floor.

Edmund didn't respond, but instead attempted to enjoy the bread that had been left on the plate. However, he coughed and spluttered, the so called "food" too dry and stale to eat. He reached for the water, only to find the liquid frozen solid in the cup. Edmund finally slouched in defeat, and pushed the tray away rather viciously.

Both Alice and Edmund paused, as they heard a scrapping of metal across the floor.

"Are you going to eat that?" a shaky voice asked, leaning in from a small gap between the next prison and theirs. Edmund turned to the voice with wide eyes, shaking his head and nudging the tray in his direction. He eyed the figure's legs carefully, pondering, before he spoke.

"Mr…Tumnus?" he asked uncertainly. Alice looked up slightly at the name.

"What's left of him," the faun muttered bitterly after a moment, biting into the stale bread with as much vigour as her could muster. He paused for a moment, running his eyes over the two of them. "You're Lucy Pevensie's brother…and you're Charlotte Kirke's sister, are you not?"

"I'm Edmund," he introduced himself weakly.

"Alice…"

"You have the same nose," Mr. Tumnus pointed out, "And you have your sister's eye shape—very unique."

Edmund rubbed the side of his nose awkwardly as Alice blinked, surprised at the unusual statement.

"Are your sister's alright?" the faun questioned, his face suddenly very serious, and perhaps, somewhat pleading.

"Are they safe?"

Alice turned her attention back to her feet and sniffed pathetically, as Edmund looked downcast for a moment.

"I…I don't know…" he mumbled. All three turned to face the entrance to the prison as the doors burst open with a ferocious gust of wind, the iron doors shaking with the force. Alice let out a small noise of fear as the Witch stormed her way across the length of the dungeon, right towards them. She barely noticed Ginnabrick struggling to keep up with her on his shorter legs. Tumnus moved back, further into his cell as both children sat up straighter against the freezing ice wall.

"My wolves tore that dam _apart_," She said darkly, her voice low as she punctuated each word. "Your little _family_ was nowhere to be found." With a hand like a vice, she lifted Edmund up from the ground several inches by the collar of his shirt, levelling his eyes with her own.

"_Where are they?_"

"I don't know!" he cried out, too scared to do anything but hang limp.

"Then you're of no further use to me," the witch sneered as, in a swift movement, she dropped Edmund roughly to the ground. She pulled out her wand, holding it poise over his head, ready to strike. Alice could only watch, horrified. She found herself unable to move as fear gripped her with its icy claws.

"Wait!" Edmund shouted, holding up his hands in an effort to defend himself. "The Beavers said something about Aslan!"

The Witch halted in her movements, her eyes wide with surprise. For a moment, Edmund could almost see fear in her eyes.

"Aslan, where?" she demanded coldly.

"H-he's a stranger here your Majesty, he can't be expected to know anything…" Tumnus' quick diversion was soon cut off by Ginnabrick, as the black dwarf hit the faun's temple with the end of his wooden staff. Tumnus yelped in pain as he brought a hand to the wound. When he looked at his hand again, he saw the trickle of crimson blood that slowly flowed down, and flinched.

"I will _not_ repeat myself again. _Where is Aslan?_" the Witch asked, not even sparing a cursory glance to the wounded Narnian.

Edmund glanced at Tumnus, who looked up, pleading with his eyes not to say any more than he already had.

"I…" he started before turning back to the Witch. "I don't know. I left before they said anything. I wanted to see you!"

The Witch stared down at him coldly for a moment, deciding if this boy was actually worth her patience. Her eyes turned to Alice for a moment, who quickly averted her gaze.

"Guards!" she shouted. At her command, a blundering Cyclops wandered into the room.

"Release the faun." The Cyclops slammed his hammer down onto the chain, affectively breaking it, but simultaneously causing serious injury to the prisoner. Tumnus was then roughly dropped at the Witch's feet.

"Do you know why you're here?" Jadis asked with a small, cruel smirk.

"Because I believe in a free Narnia," he answered simply. Though he was wounded and bleeding at the mercy of the Witch, Tumnus still held what confidence he had in the truth he knew: Aslan was the true king of Narnia. However, the Witch did not even blink at the confession.

"You're here because he…" she said, pointing her wand at Edmund. "…He turned you in…for _sweeties_." Tumnus looked at the Pevensie boy, betrayed, while Edmund looked down guiltily, regretfully, and ashamed.

"Take him upstairs," she ordered before turning back to the two young children. Both Edmund and Alice winced at the pain filled noises the faun was making as he was dragged up the ice stairs.

"And ready my sleigh. It seems _Edmund _and_ Alice _are missing their families."

* * *

They stood on the top of the cliff, staring out across the vast, snowy landscape. It was a beautiful sight, Charlotte could admit. But after the trek they had just made _up_ the cliff, the idea of walking _down_ it was just much too tiring for her.

"Now Aslan's camp is just over there, by the Stone Table–just across the frozen river," Mr. Beaver explained, gesturing before them.

Susan looked panicked for a moment. "River?"

"Oh, don't worry. The river's been frozen for a hundred years," Mrs. Beaver assured cheerfully.

"It seems so far…" Peter commented tiredly.

"It's the world, Dear. Did you expect it to be small?" Mrs. Beaver questioned, sounding almost amused.

Susan gave her brother a droll look. "Smaller…"

Charlotte looked over as Peter lagged behind for a moment, gazing out across where their journey would lead them.

"Come on. Pretty soon, you're going to be left behind if you stay standing there," she teased lightly. After a moment, Peter nodded and turned to her.

"The faster we do this, the faster we can get to Aslan, and the faster we get our siblings back," Peter agreed.

"Do you think they're alright?" Charlotte asked with a grave frown.

"I don't know," he admitted sadly. "But what I do know, is that we need to be strong for them. All of them."

She nodded in agreement. "Right, let's go."

* * *

Edmund stumbled slightly as he and Alice were forcefully led, their hands still tied behind their backs, across the stone courtyard they had first gone through to enter the castle. Alice winced when Edmund stepped on the back of her heel and he muttered an apology. He stopped suddenly, causing Alice to be yanked backwards by their connected chains. Before she snapped at him, she saw what made him stop so abruptly.

In the courtyard, another statue had been placed close to the exit. Mr. Tumnus, his face contorted in pain, was petrified in stone. Alice felt her eyes water and choked back a sob, while Edmund seemed too shocked for any kind of physical reaction.

"Whenever you're ready, Son of Adam," the Witch commented coldly standing before her sleigh.

Alice was wrestled into place at the bottom of the sleigh beside Edmund, their chains released and retied in front of them. She clung to her legs tightly and found herself leaning into Edmund's right side. He appeared surprised for a moment, clearly not expecting the contact and hesitantly shifted so she was more comfortable. He glanced up at the White Witch, who merely arched an eyebrow at him. As the sleigh pulled forward, Edmund gazed to his lap, deep in thought.

* * *

"Come on humans, while we're still young!" Mr. Beaver shouted. Charlotte rolled her eyes and continued their hike, though she made an effort to walk at least a little bit faster. Mr. Beaver had been shouting at them all to hurry up for the past half hour, and though she understood well the rush to get to Aslan's Camp, she wished the Beavers understood the humans' need for a break…and their lack of resistance to waddling through the snow.

"If he tells us to hurry one more time," Peter trailed off, moving to lift Lucy on to his back.

"I'm going to turn him into a big, fluffy hat." Lucy giggled and clung to her brother's shoulders. Charlotte grinned, the joke breaking the uncomfortable tension that surrounded them since they had started their journey that morning. Even Susan cracked a smile.

"Hurry up! Come on!" Mr. Beaver shouted once more. Lucy frowned slightly.

"He is getting a little bossy," she admitted.

"No, look behind you!" Mrs. Beaver cried out, panic rising in her voice as the ringing of bells could be heard getting closer and closer.

"It's her!"

"Run!" shouted Mr. Beaver.

Charlotte's heart pounded against her rib cage, her breathing harsh. Her legs ached from running through the thick snow, and her thoughts were circulating through her mind like a phantom. '_What if we're caught? Would we be killed, turned to stone, just like the Badger and his friends when they helped Mr. Tumnus? Would we ever see each other again? But most importantly, what would happen to Narnia if we were caught?_' Charlotte's heart beat quickened with her track of mind as she tried to run faster. The ringing bells were getting closer.

They were led into a wide section of trees, though somewhat unfortunately, as the expanse was wide enough between trees that a sleigh could still manoeuvre through. Mr. Beaver quickly spotted a hole in the side of a raised cliff, and urged them inside.

"Quick, down here–dive!" he said, quietly enough as to not alert the Witch of their position.

It was quite small, cramped if anything, but at that very moment no one seemed to care. Peter moved as far against the wall as he could, Lucy pulled close to his side as Charlotte was squished next to her. Susan was pressed against the back of the cave, the Beavers beside her. All humans struggled to keep their feet hidden from sight.

The ringing stopped abruptly and silence fell. Charlotte held her breath and found herself clinging onto Susan's arm and Lucy's hand, refusing to let go. A shadow was cased against the snow dune a couple of meters in front of them, and a small sprinkling of snow was pushed off the edge when tall, brown boots crunched on top of it. The shadow stayed for a few moments before turning and disappearing, but the sleigh did not start again. No one dared to say a thing.

Mr. Beaver stood up on his hind legs and sniffed the area above him curiously, as nothing had happened yet.

"Maybe…maybe she's gone?" Lucy whispered.

"I suppose I'll go look," Peter answered, moving slightly to stand up and release Lucy's hand that he had been holding just as tightly as Charlotte was holding Lucy's other hand.

"No!" Mr. Beaver hissed back, blocking Peter from leaving.

"You're worth nothing to Narnia dead."

"Well, neither are you Beaver," his wife insisted. He just smirked slightly and muttered, "Thanks sweetheart," before moving slowly out of the cave and disappearing up the slope. Everyone watched the area above them worriedly, as if they could see through the solid rock, and tensed at a scuffling noise that could not be placed. Susan shushed them gently. Charlotte bit her bottom lip.

"Come out, come out!" Mr. Beaver's head appeared, dangling upside from the top of the slope, a huge grin on his furry face. Lucy squeaked in surprise, her eyes wide.

"I hope you've all been good 'cause there's someone here to see you!"

No one rushed out, to be fair, but they moved at a leisurely and cautious pace, peering over the top of the slope before they climbed out of their safe haven completely. Peter and Susan gapped at what they saw, shocked. Charlotte merely stared with wide eyes, not knowing what to think except, '_Alice would love to be here_.' It was Lucy who grinned widely and happily, and took a step closer to the bearded man.

"Merry Christmas, sir," she greeted.

"It certainly is Lucy, since you have arrived," Father Christmas replied, smiling in a (for lack of better word) _jolly_ fashion.

"Look, I've put up with a lot since I got here," Susan started, looking at Peter exasperated, "but this…"

"We thought you were the Witch," Peter said, cutting her off. He blocked her view, and Charlotte had to shuffle around him, keeping her wide eyed gaze on the jolly fat man that her parents had convinced both her and her sister, existed.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that," he apologised. "But in my defence, I've been driving one of these longer than the Witch."

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia…" Susan commented, moving to join her siblings and friend.

"No, not for a long time," Father Christmas agreed. "But the hope that you have brought, your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witches power."

Charlotte smiled slightly, happy that her sister's captor was growing weaker.

"But, I guess that you could do with these," he continued with a grin, before he turned and heaved a huge, bulging, leather sack of the back of his sleigh, and dropped it at his feet with a huff. He laughed deeply, and bent down to rifle through the bag.

Lucy's face brightened with happiness and she rushed forward.

"Presents!" she exclaimed with a smile.

He crouched down to Lucy's height, a small vial, protected with a red case, in his hands.

"The juice of the fire flower - one drop will cure any injury," he explained seriously, as Lucy gently accepted the gift. "And though I hope you don't ever have to use it…"

Charlotte frowned slightly as the child held onto the small dagger presented to her. '_Seems like a very dangerous present to give a nine year old…_'

"Thank you sir…" Lucy mumbled. "I…I think I could be brave enough."

"I'm sure you could, but battles are ugly affairs," He said wisely before smiling at the girl. He then straightened up, grabbed a straight, recurve bow and a quiver of arrows from the top of the pile and turned his attention to Susan, who looked momentarily surprised at the gift.

"Susan, trust in this bow and it will not easily miss." Susan ran her thumb over the intricate design on the quiver before answering.

"What happened to 'battles are ugly affairs?'" Father Christmas only chuckled.

"And though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard…" He held out a small curved horn delicately towards her.

"Blow on this and wherever you are, help will come."

"Thanks…" she whispered softly.

"Charlotte…" Father Christmas turned to her, holding out something that resembled a long dagger.

The blade was jagged and crooked – it reminded Charlotte of a wave – and looked as if it had been hand carved from rock. The hilt was like a metal mesh, lots of thick pieces of wire interlocking and winding around each other to create a comfortable and yet odd shape – like branches from an old tree. It was light in her hands, the balance perfect for her stature.

"Thank you," Charlotte said with a grateful smile.

"Peter…" Father Christmas turned to the eldest Pevensie, and presented a long sword and a shield to the teenager.

"The moment to use these may be close at hand."

Peter watched the blade, almost enthralled by it, as he removed it from its holster and pointed it upwards, taking in the engraved design on the flat of the steel. The metal reflected off the sun's rays and onto his face. For a moment, he looked every bit the King that everyone needed him to be. Charlotte's breath caught for a moment.

"Thank you, sir," Peter said as he re-holstered the sword.

"These are _tools_, not _toys_. Bear them well and wisely. Now, I must be off. Winter is almost over," he lifted the heavy sack back onto his sleigh, and climbed into the seat.

"Things do pile up, when you've been gone for a hundred years. Long live Aslan, and Merry Christmas!" With a swift crack of the reigns, the reindeer started moving and, within a few seconds, the sleigh was being pulled away rapidly across the thick snow. They waved goodbye, shouting "Merry Christmas" after the man, each holding tightly onto their gifts.

"Told you he was real," Lucy said smugly, glancing at Susan, causing Charlotte to giggle.

"He said winter…was almost over." Peter said slowly.

"You know that that means…no more ice."


	10. Chapter 10: The Crossing

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ****This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here …**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Crossing

From where they stood, they could see the river already beginning to melt, beginning to flow once more. It was clear that it was not going to hold out for much longer. The drop from the top of the cliff, where they stood, to the ice far below was both steep and rocky. It wasn't very encouraging for the group, for they would have to climb down. Peter could not quite believe that they, four children and two beavers, would have to cross the unstable path when it was more likely to be suited for Artic Explorers back home. He swallowed nervously.

"We need to cross, now," he stated.

"Don't beavers make dams?" Lucy wondered, fear creeping into her voice.

"We're not that fast dear," Mr. Beaver answered.

"Come on," Peter encouraged, tugging his youngest sister earnestly in his hurry.

"Wait, can we just think about this for a moment?" Susan interjected loudly, stopping Peter and Lucy in their tracks. '_There could be another way of getting across this river_,' she thought. '_We don't have to just rush into scaling a cliff that is at least fifty feet down_.'

"We don't have a minute," Peter countered.

"…I'm just trying to be realistic…" Susan replied, mildly subdued at her brother's harsh tone. He did not usually speak to her in such a way, and it startled her a bit.

"No, you're trying to be smart," Peter corrected. "As usual."

He turned to leave quickly with Lucy, when he realised Charlotte had not said a word, nor had she moved from her position of peering down at drop below them.

Charlotte could feel the blood rushed from her face, her hands shaking, as she thought about climbing down _there_. Not for the first time since she had discovered it as a child, she cursed her fear of heights. She was so distracted by her inner musing of her irrational (or rational, as she liked to tell herself) fear that she did not notice the others had already caught up to her.

Charlotte jumped when she felt a warm hand tentatively grasp her shoulder, and turned to see Peter staring down at her. He calmed himself in an attempt to reassure the girl, succeeding in overshadowing the panic he was feeling. Since their father had left for war, he had become a great actor, pretending that everything was going to be alright, and he applied that skill whenever needed.

"It'll be okay," he encouraged softly. Despite that she knew it was not true, she felt inclined to believe him. Struggling to keep herself from glancing down, she nodded weakly. And with some reluctance, she carefully followed Peter's lead. A wolf's howl could be heard in the distance. Charlotte shivered at the eerie sound and grasped Susan's hand when she rushed towards her family, unwilling to stay there alone.

Charlotte struggled as she made her way across the huge chasm. She did not look down, _could not_ out of fear that she would stumble. The familiar feeling of nausea began to creep in her stomach.

Instead, she forced her head to the right and focused her gaze on the bodies and movements of the Pevensie's beside her. It gave her a point to focus on, and she doubted she would be inclined to look away from Peter's concentrating expression. All her trepidation was being spread out across her grip on Susan's hand, something she was sure must be really uncomfortable for the girl. But if it was, Susan didn't say as much. In fact, Charlotte could almost be sure Susan was grasping her hand just as hard.

She could feel the thin path sloping downwards beneath her feet, and she could hear the rushing water just a fall away. It was absolutely terrifying. Considering the circumstance, she was quite proud of herself that she was able to keep as calm as she was at the moment. Although, that did not stop her from having a small heart attack when she saw Lucy slip slightly, letting out a yelp of fear and panic. But the smaller girl was quickly saved, and placed back on the path. Charlotte felt she had never been as happy as when her feet finally touched the snow covered embank at the mouth of the frozen river–or waterfall, as it seemed.

Peter stared across the icy expanse of water, and again, swallowed nervously. He took a hesitant step forward, putting a bit of pressure to test the stability of the ground. He quickly scrambled backwards when the ice layer broke beneath him.

"Maybe I should go first..." Mr. Beaver suggested.

Peter nodded in agreement. "Maybe you should."

The beaver carefully made his way across the melting river, pausing every once and awhile to tap his tail on the ice behind him. He changed direction every time the ice cracked under his weight. Mrs. Beaver watched with narrowed eyes.

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" she complained.

"Well, you never know what meals going to be your last," he called. At her sceptical look, he quickly resumed in his task, mumbling. "…Especially with your cooking."

Even though her heart was beating a mile a minute, Charlotte cracked a small smile at the humorous, marital banter.

Mrs. Beaver shook her head, almost as if in defeat at her husband's answer, before moving forward and mimicking his steps. Nervously, the four humans began their own careful movements across the ice. Weighting much more than their beaver escorts, Charlotte could not help the feeling of anxiety when the path cracked loudly under her feet. Reaching for the closest means of support, she gripped Peter's hand tightly, biting her bottom lip.

"If mum knew what we were doing…" Susan muttered.

Peter only rolled his eyes in annoyance before he continued, warily leading them to the opposite bank.

Small blocks of ice fell from above them, hitting the ice beside the group with a sharp thud. Charlotte refused to look up. She did _not_ want to see the waterfall melting beside them, but found she had no choice when Lucy cried out in fear. She swallowed, her eyes wide, when she saw the dark, swift forms of wolves—the Secret Police.

"Run!" Peter ordered, tightening his grip on their hands. He moved quickly to get them all across the river, which only seemed to lengthen the longer it took them to cross it—in the same way that the wolves only seemed to be getting closer. Only it seemed they were closer than she thought. Charlotte was so concentrated on getting across the water; she didn't see them until a wolf had Mr. Beaver locked in his strong jaws. And another—_Maugrim,_ she recalled—had slid into place between them. She hesitantly took a step backwards. But when she glanced behind her, she only saw a broken river with more wolves on the bank. They were trapped.

Peter drew his sword, holding it awkwardly in one hand, the other one still grasping his youngest sister's hand. Shakily, the tip hovered parallel to the wolves muzzle. After one glance, Charlotte copied his action, holding her long dagger tightly as if she might drop it, and watched Maugrim closely in front of her. His cold eyes snapped towards her and growled darkly for a moment, as if annoyed by something. He only turned his attention back to Peter, an animalistic sneer on his face, when Peter rather forcefully pushed Charlotte behind him, breaking eye contact.

"Put that down, boy," Maugrim ordered, padded closer at an almost leisurely pace. Almost instinctively, the Pevensies tried to step backward, but found they were unable when the ice broke off behind them.

"Someone could get hurt," the wolf added.

"Run him through!" Mr. Beaver shouted loudly as he struggled against the wolves hold.

"Leave now, while you can," Maugrim continued, as if no one had interrupted him. "And your brother and sister leave with you." Susan glanced wildly between her brother and the approaching enemy.

"Stop Peter, maybe we should listen to him!" Maugrim chuckled.

"Smart girl," he sneered.

"Don't listen to him! Kill him! _Kill him now_!" Mr. Beaver yelled in objection.

Peter grappled the situation in his mind. As an older sibling, it was in your "job description" to do whatever it took to care for your brothers and sisters…at least, that's what his father had always told him. But things were different here. This was not a bully in the playground, or a scraped knee. This was someone, something that genuinely wanted to hurt them. This was a skilled enemy with previous experience in a fight, and no doubt in the art of trickery and deceit to get what they wanted.

"Peter…" Charlotte muttered quietly, bringing Peter out of his reverie. "Don't trust him. I…I don't think we should risk Edmund or Alice for something that may or may not be true."

He didn't respond, though he swallowed noticeably, and gripped his sword tighter using both of his hands.

"Oh come on," Maugrim growled. "This isn't your war. All my Queen wants is for you to take your siblings and go."

"Look, just because some man in a red coat hands you a sword, it doesn't make you a hero!" Susan snapped desperately. "Just drop the sword!"

Charlotte twisted the hilt of her dagger in her hand, though she lowered it some. Susan's words were true, but discouraging. Peter kept silent, even as his grip on his sword wavered.

"No Peter! Narnia needs ya!" Mr. Beaver shouted. His voice cut off with a whine when the wolf's jaw around the beaver's throat clamped down, the grip like a vice. But he still managed a few more words in encouragement. "Cut him while you still have a chance!"

"What's it going to be Son of Adam?" Maugrim asked, now standing a mere inch from the sharp end of Peter's blade. "I won't wait forever, and neither will the river."

Lucy froze when she heard a crack from above. Her eyes trailed upwards and widened at the melting waterfall. They would not have much time. She shouted her brother's name in warning as water sprayed through the gaps in the ice.

"Hold on to me!" Peter shouted out the command. Instantly, the three girls clutched at his brown furry coat tightly, trusting him completely. He raised the sword above his head and pressed it down sharply and firmly, embedding the blade in the ice.

Everything happened so fast, Charlotte barely had time to adjust to the sudden chances. The ice cracked beneath her feet, and she could feel the unsteadiness of it all. The water pressure was too much for the ice barrier. The small iceberg they were standing on was pushed away, under the freezing cold water. For a moment, the world around them was numbed by the sound of rushing water. The only indication of reality was the wet fur in their tighter grips, or in Peter's case, the metal in his hand.

The berg rose to the surface and the four humans gasped for air. Somewhere before the waterfall finally burst, Charlotte had managed to return her blade to the holster and was now using both hands to cling tightly to Susan and Peter, who were on either side of her. She kept her eyes closed, to keep water out of her eyes, and instead focused completely on trying to stay on the block of ice they were laying across.

The block lurched when it hit the bank on the other side of the river, making Charlotte's eyes snap open. She let out a relieved breath when she saw that they were finally safe. Susan and Charlotte helped each other onto the river bank with small smiles on their faces. They had made it out alive.

They turned to help Peter and Lucy and drew to a stop, a cold sense in their hearts, when they saw a panicked and distraught Peter holding the soaking wet coat-Lucy's coat.

"What have you done?" Susan cried out in fear, turning to watch the flowing stream beyond them. "Lucy! Lucy!"

Peter moved over to stand between his sister and new friend, copying his sister. Charlotte stood on the tips of her toes to try and see, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach.

"Has anyone seen my coat?"

Charlotte spun on her heels at the voice, her face lighting up. With a breathless laugh, Peter moved closer to put Lucy's coat over her shoulders.

"Don't worry dear, your brother has you well looked after," Mr. Beaver teased as he climbed out of the river.

"And I don't think you'll be needing those coats anymore," Mrs. Beaver added, turning slightly to gaze around at the expanse of trees that made up the forest beside them.

It seemed to be such a natural change; the snow once rested on the bare branches on the trees seemed to slowly, as if it was melting away, become small pink blossoms. Patches of grass and flowers at the base of the tree trunk appeared, transforming from a bud into full bloom within a few seconds. The air warmed around them and Charlotte shook off her heavy coat with a small smile.

Peter couldn't help but glance at Charlotte out of the corner of his eye when she rose on her tip toes to stretch, her arms above her head.

Susan laughed a bit as she walked past and gave her brother a knowing look.

"You know it's rude to stare," she chided, laughing just that bit more when she had a glare thrown in her direction.

Lucy looked in confusion between her eldest brother and her new friend, whom her sister was now talking happily with. It took a moment for her to realise what her sister was talking about, and why her brother was blushing so much. She grinned impishly, her eyes sparkling with glee, and glanced up at him.

"You like Charlie," she stated in a stage-whisper, the amusement and happiness clear in her voice as she spoke.

Peter cleared his throat awkwardly. He could admit to himself, it was rude to stare, but that was it.

"Of course not. I barely know her." He grasped Lucy's hand and tugged her forward.

"Come on," he urged. "We need to get to Aslan's Camp and get Edmund and Alice back."

Lucy raised her other hand to stifle her giggles.


	11. Chapter 11: Magic Bursts

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue. It's not what I intended to do, but sometimes it happens without me realising it. This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here …**

* * *

Chapter 11: Magic Bursts

Alice stood on the cliff side and appeared down at the fast flowing river beneath them nervously. She wasn't exactly the strongest swimmer, and she was having doubts as to how the so called Queen of Narnia was going to make them cross to the other side. She shifted slightly, her wrists still aching from being chaffed by the fibre rope even after they had been removed after leaving the sleigh. The Witch had guards surrounding them in any case, making it pointless to try and make an escape. At least, that was how it appeared to Alice. She shared an uneasy look with Edmund.

"It's so…warm out…" Ginnabrick commented, beginning to shrug off his thick and heavy winter coat. He stopped suddenly at the dark glare Jadis sent his way, her eyes narrowing in annoyance, and he moved the fabric back into place.

"I'll go and check the sleigh," he mumbled.

Edmund gave Alice a slight smile at the dwarf's discomfort. Alice stared at him for a moment, almost in disbelief, before her mouth twitched upwards at the edges. It dropped seconds later at the sound of Maugrim's deep, gravel voice.

"Your Majesty."

The squadron of grey wolves approached from within the underbrush. A member of the police force appeared at its forefront, a wounded fox locked within his jaws. He released the animal with a sharp jerk of his head. The fox let out an injured cry as it hit the ground. Still, Alice would admit the animal was strong as he struggled onto four feet.

"Found the traitor. We caught him rallying your enemies near the Shuddering Woods," Maugrim explained.

Slowly, the Witch stepped towards the animal, stopping a few inches in front of him. Almost threateningly, her wand twirled in her hand.

"Ah, it is nice of you to drop in. You were so helpful to my wolves last night. Perhaps you can help me now…"

Fox glanced between the Witch and the two tired looking humans at her side before bowing his head slightly.

"Forgive me Your Majesty," he said.

The Witch scoffed. "Please, don't waste my time with flattery."

"Not to be rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you," Fox replied coolly. His eyes moved away from the towering woman, pausing at Edmund's form. The boy stiffened instantly with shock, his eyes wide with confusion, when the Witch turned sharply to pierce him with her gaze, a look of pure irritation on her face. Alice bit her bottom lip, refraining from gapping in disbelief at what the fox was implying. Edmund, a king? She was well aware that much had happened since they first crossed over into this world through the wardrobe, but this just seemed ridiculous—Edmund Pevensie was not a king, he couldn't be.

Slowly, the Witch turned away from the child beside her and moved closer to the fox, poising her wand into a threatening position.

"Where are the humans heading?" she asked, her tone begetting no argument or unclear response.

The fox remained silent, a fraction of fear cracking through his façade of nonchalance as he took a few unsteady steps in retreat. Edmund's eyes darted worriedly between the animal and the Witch. Alice raised a hand to her mouth and waited, too tense to let out a breath. The Witch's eyes hardened and her hand drew back to attack.

"Wait! No, don't!" Edmund shouted, halting the Witch's movements as he hurried to stand between the Fox and the Witch, a look of panic on his face. "The Beaver said something about the stone table, and how Aslan had an army there." The Witch straightened.

"An army," she repeated coldly.

_I__'__ve __done __it __again_, Edmund thought. He had told the Witch something he shouldn't have, something that could ultimately end in their death. It was exactly this that had gotten both him and Alice into this situation in the first place. Nervously, he twisted to look behind him. The fox looked up at him in disappointment, before sighing and shaking his head in defeat.

Of course, Edmund felt even worse than before as soon as he had seen the look—he knew he shouldn't have said anything, but if that information (which was apparently important) saved his life, then surely it was worth it…right? He glanced at Alice quickly for some kind of answer, but all he received was an anxious look as she waited for the Witch's next action.

"Thank you Edmund," she spoke pleasantly, a grim smile upon her face. "Now, I'm glad this creature got to see some honesty…before he died!"

"No!" Alice and Edmund shouted. Alice was the loudest, her face pained and terrified, her hands swinging outwards instinctively.

At the time, no one was really sure what happened. It was like…a shield—a force-field would probably be a better word, but Alice didn't really like that explanation—encircled the fox's terrified form. It could not be seen, at least not by the naked eye. But when the Witch's weapon hit it, the wand bounced back, like it had been thrown at a wall instead of threw thin air. There was a moment's pause of confusion.

The fox sighed in relief. He looked up at Alice with joy in his eyes. "Thank you my Lady," he breathed gratefully, and ran as fast as his four paws would carry him—past the squadron, and disappearing somewhere into the vast expanse of trees behind them.

Alice was shaking when Edmund reached her side. He hesitantly touched her arm. "Hey, are you all right?"

"I-I don't…I'm not…" she shook her head furiously.

Suddenly, the Witch spun towards her violently, her eyes wild with her fury. She stormed towards her and grabbed the young Kirke daughter by the chin, her index finger and thumb pressing into the pale skin hard enough to bruise. Alice's face contorted in pain as she struggled fruitlessly against the hold.

"How did you do that?" she hissed darkly.

"I never…it wasn't me…I don't know what happened!" Alice cried out, scared.

The Witch watched the child panic for a moment before abruptly releasing her hold. The suddenness of the release caused her to stumble back. Edmund was then the focus of the Witch's attention. Jadis peered down at him blankly for a moment, as if gauging what her next action would be. She slapped him brusquely. And the boy's head snapped to the side when the force of the hit. Before Edmund could react, his head was caught in a hold.

"Be aware of whose side you are on, Edmund," she told him firmly, inlying a deadly warrant of caution.

She turned away from the two humans and strolled towards her police. They seemed to be displeased over the fact that it had taken them a fair amount of time to find the traitorous fox in the first place, but stopped their grumbling as soon as their Queen approached. They awaited their next orders.

"Gather the faithful," she commanded strongly. "If it is a war Aslan wants…" She raised her wand to touch the tip to a harmless butterfly that just had the misfortune of flying past at that exact moment, her lips pursing with her severe agitation.

"…Then it is a war he shall get."


	12. Chapter 12: Meeting Aslan

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up a Mary-Sue - it's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. ThisisinCharlotte'spointofview,firstperson.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here … **

**A/N: Once again, I'd like to thank my amazing beta Evanescence2189 for helping me with this story :D**

* * *

Chapter 12: Meeting Aslan

The lush grass felt wonderful beneath my feet, like walking on a cloud. Within moments, winter melted into spring, leaving the warmth of the bright sun over our heads in its wake. As we walked along our path, we left our sopping coats hanging over branches of trees. We asked the Beavers numerous times where exactly we were going, but they repeated the same thing over and over again: "Aslan's camp. Try and keep up, will ya?" It was beginning to annoy by the fifth time of asking, and by the eighth, we had decided to stay silent.

It felt like forever since I had climbed out of the melting river, and we had started the trek across the land. It was beautiful though, everything that my grandfather had described. The trees appeared as if they were dancing; the breeze gently moved their blooming flowers, limbs, and leaves, which seemed to stretch and lean to and fro—like they was alive…and they were. The dryads emerged from their long since resting places in the cherry trees, and greeted us all happily in their spring corporeal forms of petals. Lucy stopped in her step, in awe of their appearance. But then, she beamed brightly and waved.

We descended over a hill top, and I paused at the scene before me. It was…magnificent. In a cavern in the ground, hidden from view, yellow and red tents were positioned across the grass. They were tall, and larger than most rooms in my home in Hasting. Men, women and children, creatures of all sorts, swarmed the area. They seemed completely immersed in what they were doing. I doubted they would have even noticed our arrival if it was not for the blowing of a horn, from somewhere above us. I glanced up and saw a centaur positioned at the top of the cavern, at its opening, to see all the surrounding area.

_Probably __in __case __of __an __unexpected __attack_, I mused.

As we walked through the crowds of centaurs, fauns, leopards, cheetahs—some creatures I had not even heard of before—all prepared food or cleaning weapons, and all stopped to watch us. It was as if they were amazed to see us there…  
_As __if __they __never __expected __it_, I thought. _Although, __now __that __I __think __about __it, __that __makes __sense._

After all, there had been a hundred years of winter with the White Witch in power. It would almost be unbelievable that her powers were weakening because of our so-called prophesied arrival. And it was not like we looked like we could lead an army into battle. The crowd parted for our small group and began to follow us expectantly. I was uncomfortable with the undivided attention that was currently being offered to us, and it made me uneasy while we walked through the crowd.

"Why are they all staring at us?" Susan asked through a straining smile.

"Maybe they think you look funny," Lucy offered with a giggle. Susan's smile became more genuine.

Mrs. Beaver kept ruffling her fur, puffing it up and then smoothing it out. It was clear to me she was nervous—she had such obvious habits—and that only seemed to remind me how important the person—or creature—we were about to meet truly was.

"Oi, stop your fussing, you look lovely," Mr. Beaver assured.

I was sure if it were possible, Mrs. Beaver would have blushed.

We continued onward, approaching the largest of the tents in the area. It was striped yellow and red, flags flying at all corners, and had been put up on a raised slab of rock, right at the head of the camp. Aslan was there, I was sure of it. A centaur stood on the edge of the rock platform, and he took a few steps forward, silently letting us know to go no further. We slowed in our steps.

Hesitantly, Peter pulled his new sword from the leather sheath at his hip and held the weapon, point upwards, in a sign of respect. It wavered slightly.

"We've come to see Aslan," he announced loudly, his gaze on the centaur. Whispers broke out from behind us, but no one dared to turn around.

The centaur regarded us all separately, before turning his gaze to the opening of the tent. I followed his gaze and watched with bated breath. There was a moment of pause where all ceased…then slowly, the Narnians dropped to their knees, weapons and armour clanging together as they did. I saw the Pevensies' glance behind them, probably feeling more uncomfortable by the second, but I could not. I just kept staring at the silk entrance to the tent, waiting, expecting _what_ I did not know, but something.

And then it happened. The fabric separated slowly. There was a massive paw that stepped through the opening, and then, the tent fully opened.

A lion; Aslan was a lion.

He padded toward us, proud, tall, and regal. He held an air of intelligence and controlled power, something that commanded respect. And when he turned his gaze on us, I felt almost weak at the knees. A golden warmth spread through me, one that filled my entire being with a contentment I had never felt before this…it was wonderful.

I dropped to my knees in respect. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the others do the same.

When he spoke, it was as if his voice permeated the air, and all were compelled to listen to his every word.

"Welcome Peter, son of Adam. Welcome Susan, Lucy, and Charlotte, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you Beavers, you have my thanks," he greeted in his growled voice, "But where are the others?" We slowly climbed to our feet.

"That's why we're here sir, we need your help," Peter sighed, sliding his sword into the sheath once more.

"We had a little trouble along the way," Susan added.

"Alice and Edmund have been captured by the White Witch," I finished quietly.

"Captured? How could this have happened?" Aslan questioned.

"They…betrayed them, Your Majesty," explained Mr. Beaver.

"Then they have betrayed us all," exclaimed the centaur. The rest of the Narnians began to talk loudly amongst themselves, discussing the possibilities of such a claim.

"Peace, Orieus," Aslan warned, silencing the camp once more. "I'm sure there's an explanation."

Peter looked downcast for a moment, before he raised his head to speak to Aslan. "It was my fault really, I was too hard on Edmund, and Alice would have followed to stop him, I know it."

Susan rested a hand on his shoulder, while I shook my head sadly.

"It's not your fault Peter," I whispered.

"We all were," Susan corrected.

"But sir, they're family," Lucy said quietly, pleading for him to help us.

"I know, Young One," Aslan spoke softly. "But that only makes the betrayal all the worse." He turned his attention back to Peter.

"This may be harder than you think."


	13. Chapter 13: Conversational Hope & Doubt

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up Mary-Sues. It's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. This is in third person.**

* * *

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here… **

_**Thank you again to my beta, Evanescence2189, who also came up the title for this chapter when my brain had died :)**_

* * *

Chapter 13: Conversational Hope and Doubt

"It's beautiful here," Charlotte commented.

The two eldest siblings of both the Pevensie family and the Kirke family stood on the cliff side that overlooked the campsite, and beyond great, rolling hills, a tall structure was just visible before the shores of a broad ocean. They had been shown where they would sleep: large, red and yellow tents that were positioned left of Aslan's own—Susan and Lucy in one, Peter and Edmund in another, and Charlotte and Alice in the last.

For the two eldest, their temporary homes were too spacious without their missing siblings to fill it. The feeling became a bit overwhelming, driving them to retreat from the tents, from everything, to have some time for their thoughts.

Peter glanced towards the girl out of the corner of his eyes distractedly, and nodded slightly. His hand moved over the hilt of his sword, which hung from his waist.

"Huh? Oh, yes…it is."

Charlotte gazed at him thoughtfully. He was worried, it was clear in his entire demeanour, in his facial expression, the clear emotion in his eyes. It hadn't been so obvious before, she reflected.

"I think they're fine, both of them," she spoke softly. Peter stilled his hand.

"…How can you be sure?" His tone was skeptical, and he returned his gaze to the horizon.

She paused.

She wasn't sure. It was a feeling, a stray thread of thought that probably just appealed to her sense of optimism. It was simply in her nature to never think of the worst case scenario. But no matter how she wanted to pass off the thread as such, it remained at the forefront of her mind. Charlotte would have liked to think that if something ever happened to her sister, she would be able to tell…

At least, that was what her mother had always said.

But at this moment, the feeling gave her the semblance of comfort, even if she couldn't completely trust it.

"I am," she assured tentatively. "The Witch needs them. As long as it takes to get a hold of us, they'll be her bargaining chip."

"Thank you, Charlotte. That makes me feel _much_ better," Peter muttered sarcastically.

"And _secondly_…" she continued. "Edmund's your brother…"

"…And?"

"Well…my mother constantly used to say, 'watch out for your sister. You'll know when she's in trouble. Hell, it's in your very blood to have a sixth sense for your family. Why do you think I always catch your father sneaking sweets from the pantry?'" Charlotte couldn't help but grin at the memory. Peter offered a small smile.

He stared at her for a moment, mulling over the possibilities. He wanted so much for her words to be true...but he had no mind for sanguinity. With his father at war, and the four of them being evacuated from the city, he had taken it upon himself to try and keep the remainder of his family together. So far, he had failed terribly.

It was a nice thought, but he sincerely doubted it.

"Maybe…"

"Peter—" she began. He turned to her then, and cut her off.

"_Look._ I'm not one to say things will be fine when they won't. Be realistic."

"I _am_…now, I know you're not going to believe me, but _no one_ could have anticipated this. There's no point in wallowing in self-pity—" Peter rolled his eyes then.

"Wallowing? Is that what I'm doing?" he mocked.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?" Charlotte sighed. She slowly stepped closer to him, and tentatively laid a hand on his. It was bold, she realized. Perhaps she shouldn't have.

"All we can do is to try and get them back, and Aslan will. He _promised_ he would, and I don't doubt that." He hesitated on these words, glancing at her hand.

"…But what will he find when he does?" Peter countered after a moment.

"…We'll have to wait and see," she answered. She knew it was unsatisfactory, but it was all she could offer.

"I hate waiting." She gave a small smile.

Hesitantly, he raised his free hand to cover her smaller one. Charlotte blinked, slightly taken aback by his action. She had almost forgotten her hand was still upon his, and she looked up at him then, mouth slightly open.

They continued to watch each other in silence…until the soft rumble of someone clearing their throat sounded behind them, breaking the reverie.

Both pulled away from each other at the same time, and put a generous amount of distance between them. Peter straightened, and Charlotte brushed some hair behind her ear, looking towards the ground. The Great Lion slowly approached them with an amicable cat's smile.

"Aslan," the two humans bowed awkwardly in acknowledgement.

"Charlotte, Peter," he nodded to each separately. "Charlotte, would you mind if I spoke to Peter for a moment?" She nodded quickly.

"Of course," she agreed. Charlotte smiled once at both of them before moving away from the ledge, and travelling downhill. She went in search of Susan and Lucy. They had mentioned something about a lake earlier, she remembered.

* * *

As she expected, Charlotte found the two Pevensie girls by the lake. It was a secluded area, surrounded by several large trees with hanging branches, although it was close enough to the camp that the busy chatter and clanging of swords could be clearly heard. She paused along the outskirts of the area, watching the two sisters from a distance. They seemed to be talking about something in private and she did not want to intrude. She considered leaving, but Lucy caught sight of her over her sister's shoulder. The girl beamed brightly and ran on bare feet over to Charlotte.

"There you are! Charlie, aren't these dresses brilliant?" She spun in a circle to show off the detailed designs of her gown. Charlotte couldn't resist smiling.

"They really are gorgeous," she agreed.

"Look at Susan. She looks like our mum in the dress she's wearing," Lucy commented with a smile.

Susan, who had made her way at a much slower pace to her sister's side, smiled awkwardly and peered down at the dress thoughtfully.

"Mum hasn't had a dress like this since before the war."

"We should bring her one back, a whole trunk full," Lucy suggested.

"I'm sure she'll love it, Lu," Charlotte assured with a grin. Susan looked down into the water's reflection.

"If we ever get back," she added grimly. Lucy looked down dejectedly. Charlotte frowned. "I'm sorry I'm like that," said Susan, as she viewed the two girls' reactions. She glanced at her sister thoughtfully.

"We used to have together, didn't we?"

"Yes…before you got boring," Lucy giggled in amusement.

"Oh, really," Susan smirked.

She and Charlotte shared a glance and grinned. Together, they bent to the water and startled the unexpecting Lucy with a wave of cold water from both sides. A cry of surprise caught in her throat, her facial expressions tensing up in astonishment. In retaliation, she waved her arms wildly in the water, spraying both of the older girls with water. Charlotte gaped in shock and returned the favour.

Giggling, Susan dodged the last attack as she made her way out of the water. However, when she grabbed the towel that was thrown over a low hanging branch, a loud bark sounded through sharp teeth. Her sharp cry of terror alerted Charlotte and Lucy. Instinctively, Charlotte took a step backwards into the water, dragging Lucy with her.

"Please don't run. We're tired," Maugrim started, padding forward.

Another wolf appeared from behind him, and both began closing in on them.

"We would prefer to kill you quickly," he finished.

Susan stumbled backwards. She looked between the two wolves, at a loss for what to do. But after a split second, she threw the towel at Maugrim, temporarily blinding him. She rushed to where their Christmas presents were laying, near the branch where the towel had been.

With a sharp push, Charlotte forced Lucy after her sister. She pulled her sword from her holster and held it clumsily in front of her. Susan's horn blared behind her, their only call for help. Charlotte took careful stepped backward. She heard Susan call out for her, and she turned and ran with them.

"Over here!" Susan yelled, directing Lucy up the tree closest to them.

Her eyes widened a fraction, her heart momentarily stalling. It was so high, she couldn't climb it. At the very thought, her hands seemed to clam up. The growl of the wolves behind her seemed to remind her that she had no choice. Silently cursing to herself, she made her way over to the tree closest to her, stumbling slightly over clumps of upturned soil, as she doubted she would be able to make it to the other tree in time. Still, it probably would have been better – at least I'd have two people to help me get up this bloody thing. She began climbing hastily, heaving herself up the thin limbs. Her foot slipped, causing her to panic – she didn't want to fall - and frantically grabbed the closest branches. She grip the sharp bark like her life depended on it. For a moment, she allowed herself the amusement of the thought that she was more afraid of falling from this height than she was of being captured by those wolves. She mentally slapped herself; she really needed to sort out her priorities. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Lucy was safely perched on the top, holding desperately onto Susan, who was having trouble pushing her self up.

The barking wolves were shortening their distance drastically, the sound of their growls much louder than before. It seemed to snap Charlotte out of her revere, and she set her hanging feet awkwardly onto the trunk of the tree, and propelled herself upward roughly, landing strangely over the (what she hoped was) strong branch. She hissed as a jolt of pain shot through her left side but ignored it, as she pushed herself up so she was sitting up properly. She kept her eyes closed, clinging to the trunk of the tree, and hoped that Susan had managed to get to safety as well.

"_Can wolves climb trees?_" she thought to herself. She knew it was irrational, but anxiety was gripping her heart with an iron fist.

Silently, she prayed that help would come soon.


	14. Chapter 14: Saving You

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up Mary-Sues. It's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here… **

_**Thank you again to my beta, Evanescence2189 :)**_

* * *

Chapter 14: Saving You

The wolf barked and jumped up onto its hind legs, snapping his jaw violently at the girl gripping tightly to the tree branch. Charlotte squealed loudly, and lifted her legs up automatically to put some more distance between her body and potential death. The animal growled in frustration and dropped back on all fours, circling the tree once more to begin the process again. Out of the corner of her eye, Charlotte glanced towards the tree within which the Pevensie girls were seeking refugee. Much to her relief, Susan had managed to pull herself up the tree and was standing on the branch, holding onto the one above her to keep her balance. Lucy was clutching tightly to the tree's trunk, while watching Maugrim at the base of the tree. She was terrified, it was clear. Every time the chief of police moved upwards towards them, she seemed unable to stop her cries from escaping.

The wolf jumped once more and Charlotte moved her legs away. They were trapped, separated, and although they were armed, none of them were able to use their weapons. For one, they had yet to learn to use them, and for another, the wolves would attack them before they'd even touched a toe to the ground. No, it was too dangerous. They could only wait.

What Charlotte couldn't fathom was, someone must have heard the horn, so why was it taking so long? But just as the thought passed her mind, the leaves parted and a slightly blurred figure rushed through them. It took a moment for Charlotte to realize that it was Peter. She expelled a sigh of relief, never feeling more pleased to see the older blond again. He sprinted across the shallow water of the river, the water splashing around him, and unsheathed his sword.

"Get back!" he shouted the order.

Both wolves gave one last attempt at attacking the three girls in the trees, before turning their attention to the young king. He held the sword awkwardly with both hands, petrified, yet determined.

The expression in his eyes gave himself away and only amused Maugrim more. But he had no time for humour. He had been chasing these six children for far longer than he should have, and he was tired. He would see this mission through, however. Baring his teeth, he and his companion began to circle the boy.

"_Come on_," he spat. "We've already been through this before. We both know you haven't got it in you."

Peter knew. He had to protect his family, yes, which he had promised he would. But he could admit to himself, that he was inept when it came to swordplay. He had no idea how to even properly handle the weapon he had been gifted with, and this was no time to learn.

Susan shouted his name in warning and, after a quick glance towards her; he moved the point of his sword to the wolf in Maugrim's command. It growled at him with a snap of its powerful jaw.

Peter swallowed noticeably.

Maugrim growled in anticipation, and he was sharp in his change of movements as he paced.

A primal, low snarl sounded behind Peter, and he tensed in preparation of the attack that he was sure would happen. Instead, there was a yelp of surprise and pain, to which he glanced over briefly to see Aslan holding the other squirming wolf beneath a powerful, feline paw. Some of the army came up behind him, weapons ready, and Peter felt intensely relieved, knowing now that he would have help. That feeling disappeared almost immediately when Aslan stopped them.

"This is Peter's battle," he stated.

Peter turned his attention back on Maugrim, and almost laughed out of disbelief.

"You may think you're a king…" Maugrim started, crouching low on his front paws. "…But you're going to die _like a dog!_"

Maugrim launched himself, teeth bared, towards Peter. He cried out at the suddenness and fell beneath the canine's weight. The three girls screamed his name, their grips on tree trunks and each other tightening. There was a moment were nothing moved, where everyone just stared at the collision point between man and beast. Charlotte was the first to move. She clenched her eyes shut and began to shimmy down the tree, only opening them and breathing easily when her feet touched the uneven ground. She turned just as Susan and Lucy ran past her, and hurried after them, crouching at their fallen sibling and companion. She bit her bottom lip nervously, her hands clenched on her knees, and watched as Susan and Lucy made a joint effort to push the lifeless body off their brother.

Peter sat up quickly, red faced and a little breathless. The shock was clear on his face as he glanced towards Maugrim, who had been laid beside him, the sword still imbedded in his stomach. He turned towards his younger sisters, as if looking for clarification. The two girls didn't say anything, but dragged their brother into a strong embrace. Peter breathed out heavily and returned it tightly. He glanced up and caught Charlotte's gaze. The girl gave him a shaky smile, her eyes soft with relief, and she brushed a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. Peter returned the awkward grin.

Aslan released his grasp on the second wolf. The canine barked and whimpered loudly, scrambling to escape. The lion looked up to Orieus, who towered above him.

"After him," he ordered. "He'll lead you to Alice and Edmund."

Orieus nodded in acceptance, and gestured the small regiment to follow him. The mismatched group of centaurs, fauns, and talking beasts became cloaked by trees.

"Peter," Aslan addressed, "clean your sword."

The blond nodded quickly, standing up on shaky legs. He carefully pulled his sword from the carcass, grimacing at the sound it produced, and approached the water bed. With the palm of his hand, he sloshed the water across the silver blade, scrubbing the sections that were particularly difficult to remove. He could feel the eyes on him, watching his trembling movements, but was careful not to acknowledge them.

Once the blade was clean, he stood up and approached Aslan; standing in front of him like the gangly teenager he was, restless and awkward. Nonetheless, the lion only smiled reassuringly and told him to kneel, leaning on the hilt of his sword. Peter obliged, keeping his head down.

Aslan rose up slightly and dropped his right paw on the boy's shoulders. Peter moved with the pressure automatically.

"Rise, Sir Peter Wolfsbane, Knight of Narnia."

In that moment, Charlotte noticed the apparent change in Peter. He was more resolved, confident in his abilities. In her opinion, he was already on his way to becoming the King that Narnia needed him to be.

* * *

It was dark and hushed. Edmund and Alice were tied to two opposing trees with coarse rope, gagged with a dirty cloth. Their eyes were wide and alert, despite the fact they were beginning to sting from a lack of sleep, but refused to allow them to close. They breathed heavily, scared. Neither had a clue how long they had been there, although Edmund felt it had to have been at least a few days, judging on how hungry he was. Time just seemed to pass slowly, if at all.

Alice shifted as her arms—which were pulled behind her—went numb and winced at the painful rubbing of ropes against her chafed wrists. Edmund tilted his head towards the girl. Though it was impossible for either of them to saying anything, even in the darkness of the night, Edmund nodded to her wrists, a question in his eyes. She nodded in reply.

"_It hurts…" _Alice thought, but she would be fine.

The eerie silence was abruptly interrupted. It was quiet, barely noticeable, but for the two children who had only heard taunting and the sharpening of weapons since they had arrived at the camp site, it seemed so much louder. Confusion clouded their eyes and their ears strained to hear.

In the distance, it sounded as if there were horses' hooves galloping, _closing in…_

* * *

Charlotte paused at the entrance to Peter's tent, and stifled laughter by covering her mouth with her hand when she caught sight of the boy moving dramatically around the rather large space, his sword swinging as he poised it in random and slightly awkward moves. It was rather sweet, she felt, and so decided against announcing her presences so soon. Instead, she delighted herself by watching him while he was unawares. She did feel odd staring, more abashed at the thought, now that she acknowledged it.

Just as she would have stepped away, Peter turned quickly to the entrance, seeing her through the crack of the open flap. He stilled in shock, the blade poise towards her. She smiled at him carefully, hoping to relieve some of the embarrassment. Peter flushed a rather amusing shade of pink, and hastily shoved the weapon back in its holster.

Charlotte cleared her throat.

"Are you busy?" she asked. He paused, and dislodged his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

"Um…busy? N-No…not really."

"Well…then, may I come in a moment?"

"Uh, um, y-yes, of course…" he stammered, and turned away from the girl. He ran a hand through his hair—a nervous habit.

She stepped in, letting the tent flap close behind her. Silence fell between them, both feeling too uneasy to say anything. Peter was fixing his hair in the mirror, purposely ignoring her reflection, and Charlotte examined the temporary room. It was almost identical to her place of residence, except that the beds were on opposite sides. She wondered why she had asked to come in here in the first place…

"So, um, is something wrong?" Peter asked at last. Charlotte blinked, caught off guard.

"Nothing, I just…I wanted to congratulate you on your knighting…" At the memory, Peter couldn't help but to smile.

"Thank you. It was…pretty amazing actually."

"I can imagine," She grinned up at him. A thought then hit her, and the smile faltered slightly. "All of this is so overwhelming…"

He tilted his head towards her in a silent urging for her to elaborate on her statement.

"I've grown up with the stories of Narnia and it's talking animals, all the mystical creatures," she began quietly, "I mean, my grandfather used to tell Alice and I all these wonderful stories—but that's always what I thought they were, just stories. When Lucy and I stumbled across this world in real life and, even though I was so awed to have found it, I haven't really had the chance to adjust. I feel like I've been chucked into the deep end, so to speak…"

"It is a lot to take in…" Peter agreed, stepping closer to her. "I've done more in three days than I have in all my life."

"And now you're knighted." She arched an eyebrow. "I know _I_ would have never expected this turn of events." Peter rolled his eyes, but smiled, despite himself.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence."

"Much obliged." He sighed, casting his eyes to the roof of the tent.

"It's like a story you would pass down to children, lulling them to sleep with fairy tales."

"Now all you need is a fair maiden to give you a token of her love," Charlotte teased.

"Well, I do have a damsel that I just saved from distress, maybe that will be good enough for this fairy tale," Peter joked back.

The statement had, once again, caught her off guard. Charlotte knew it wasn't supposed to be taken seriously—they were only joking—but even so, she felt her heart rate quicken. Perhaps it was the embarrassment at knowing she wasn't _completely_ adverse to the idea.

A strange look crossed Peter's face, for a mere split second, and he suddenly panicked.

"I-I didn't mean it like that. I was only, you know, joking…I, um…just ignore me…"

Charlotte's lips twitched upwards. The rambling was oddly endearing. She closed the distance between them, with two steps.

Charlotte hesitated for a brief moment, before rising up on her tip toes. She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. Pulling away, she slowly lowered her feet flat on the ground.

Peter said nothing, and simply stared. She smiled thinly, nodding in understanding. Before he could even utter a reply, she swept out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15: Family Reunions

**Disclaimer/Notes: C.S. Lewis owns everything. I only own Charlotte and Alice. I apologize if these characters end up Mary-Sues. It's not what I intended to do but sometimes it happens without me realising it. This is in third person.**

**Title: Through the Wardrobe**

**Genre: Romance/Adventure**

**Rating: T **

**Pairings: PeterxOC EdmundxOC **

**Summary: When the Pevensie's are sent to live with Professor Kirke, they didn't expect to meet the outgoing and beautiful granddaughters of his: Alice and Charlotte. The journey begins here… **

_**Thank you again to my beta, Evanescence2189 :)**_

* * *

Chapter 15: Family Reunions

It was a brisk, spring morning and Charlotte couldn't help but close her eyes, enjoying the breeze that caressed her flushed cheeks. She'd been up most of the night, partially worrying about her sister, who she prayed was on her way home with Edmund and the Narnians who had been sent to retrieve them…but memories of the previous night had also occupied her thoughts, as she had never before been so bold.

Of course, it was _just_ a kiss on the cheek. It was nothing compared to what some of the other girls at her old school had claimed to have done on their holidays, but still, she had never found an interest in a boy before.

Nevertheless, Charlotte had never met someone like Peter before. His parents had certainly done their job in raising him as a proper gentleman, which was the least she could say for some. Manners were something her mother, father and even her grandfather had entwined in the subconscious of both herself and Alice; it was refreshing to encounter. But more than this, his personality—polite yet endearing—attracted her.

_Maybe it's the Narnian air_, she summarized. Yes, that had to be it. Peter was a familiar face in a sea of strangers, no matter how friendly and wonderfully magical they were. It was only natural for her to cling to him…for her to notice the subtleties in his personality that reminded her so strongly of home.

_Yes, that explains it_. She nodded to herself.

Charlotte's green eyes turned towards the horizon, scanning the area of lush grass and sloping hills. Her gaze finally stilled on two familiar, scrawny forms standing before the larger shape of a lion.

From her position outside her tent, she watched as Aslan spoke to their two missing siblings. Despite the distance, she couldn't help straining her eyes to search for any signs of injury, and felt an odd sense of satisfaction when she noticed no major wounds, at the very least. A small smile crossed her face. She knew they would be okay.

The grass crumpled under heavy boots and Charlotte looked over her shoulder, catching sight of the eldest Pevensie behind her. He was watching Edmund and Alice as well, although his face remained expressionless. Briefly, his blue eyes darted towards her and he offered a slightly awkward smile. Charlotte blushed involuntarily and inconspicuously turned away from him, hoping he didn't see her reddened cheeks.

A silence fell between them, something both uneasy and comfortable, both lost in their own thoughts. They barely noticed that Susan and Lucy had joined them, followed their locked gazes, until Lucy cried out, breaking the silence.

"Edmund!" Lucy made to run forward, but was stopped by Peter's arm in front of her. She looked up at him in confusion. But it didn't matter. Lucy's call had interrupted whatever conversation the three had been having, and they slowly made their way down the edge of the cliff side.

Alice reached them first, automatically throwing herself into her sister's hold and clinging tightly to the collars of her dress. She had to blink to hold back her tears of happiness. It was an over-reaction, she knew, but she had never been so happy to see her annoyingly protective older sister. Not that she would readily admit it, but…she had missed Charlotte.

Charlotte accepted Alice's weight easily, holding the younger girl close and pressing her face into her knotted hair. Alice was filthy; having been wearing the same close for the last several days, there was no denying her desperate need for a bath. Charlotte didn't care.

Edmund watched the embrace from a few steps behind. He had his hands buried deep in his trouser pockets and couldn't keep the nervousness from his expression.

In a way, he was glad he didn't have to experience such a public reunion, but a part of him still wished he was comfortable enough to just run up and steal a hug from his sisters and his brother, like he used to when he was younger. He glanced towards his family but averted his eyes just as quickly. He shifted from foot to foot and licked at his cut lip, a habit he had taken up once the stinging had calmed.

"What's done is done," Aslan stated finally. "There is no need to speak to them about what has past." With that, he turned and left them.

There was a brief silence as they watched the great lion leave, before attention reverted back to Edmund. He finally lifted his gaze from the floor.

"…Hello," he muttered.

A grin broke out on Lucy's face. She let out a breathy laugh before stepping forward and wrapping her arms about his waist, burying her face in his chest. He moved with the impact slightly, surprised…and then smiled gently, returning the hold. Susan approached her younger siblings, touching Edmund's arms gently, and took Lucy's place when she stepped back.

Since he had been rescued from his own stupid mistake, he had been dreading seeing his brother and sisters again. He could only imagine what they would think of him, what the still thought of him.

Charlotte leant back to press a kiss to Alice's grubby forehead. "Don't _ever_ do that to me _again._"

"Sorry…" Alice mumbled, although a defensive statement was hanging on the edge of her tongue.

"Well…I'm just glad you're safe," said Charlotte with a grin, and she tightened the embrace.

"Are you both all right?" Susan questioned, glancing between them.

"I'm a little tired," Edmund admitted.

"Me too," Alice agreed.

"Get some sleep," Peter instructed, nodding his head in the direction of his tent.

Silence ensued as they glanced toward him. Charlotte bit her lip in concern when she saw his same emotionless look as before.

_Surely, despite the circumstances, he's happy to see his brother again, _she thought.

Edmund deflated and nodded reluctantly. He began shuffling towards the tent, shoulders hunched. Alice pulled herself out of her sister's grasp to join him, heading in the same direction. The girl did not even question where her room would be, and Charlotte didn't bother to tell her…

"Oh, and Edmund…Alice," Peter called out, stopping them in place. He smiled, amused. "Try not to wonder off."

Alice giggled shortly, while Edmund let out a laugh of relief.

They watched as their two siblings made their way towards Peter's tent. Edmund held open the cloth door, allowing Alice to enter first, before he followed in after her.

Susan's eyebrows furrowed. "That hardly seems…appropriate." Charlotte shrugged.

"Ah, just leave them be. If they want to stay together, after what happened, then just let them. They're too young for anything 'inappropriate.' And if Ed is anything like his brother, he'll be a gentleman." Peter looked at her in surprise, but Charlotte didn't take notice. She brushed down her dress and peered around them.

"I think I'm going to take a walk around the camp. It'll give me something to do until they wake up."

She made to walk away, but then paused in her step.

"Oh, and Peter," she said, smiling. "I told you they'd be all right."

Peter watched her leave incredulously, before his shock melted into amusement. He chuckled a bit to himself.

"So you did," he murmured.


End file.
